Twelve Days of Christmas
by runicclover
Summary: It's Christmas time in Konoha and Naruto's ready for it! ...Except... He doesn't quite know what to get a certain Uchiha.... [SasuNaru pairings]
1. Day One

Pairings -- SasuNaru (in that order), LeeSaku, ShikaIno, KibaHina, KakaIru, NejiGaa

Summary -- It's Christmas time in Konoha and Naruto's ready for them! ...Except... He doesn't know quite what to get Sasuke... (sasunaru and others)

A/N -- Phew I was debating for a while on whether or not to finish writing this entire story and post it as a one-shot, or just post 5-10 pages at a time. I voted for the latter. So this fanfiction should be about 12 chapters long at around 7 pages a chapter. Please note that I do not have a beta-reader, and I also don't have a spell-check, so there may be some spelling-gramatical errors that I'm not aware of, or simply missed. I do make a point to read through my work several times before moving on, and I'm confident that there aren't any mistakes, but please don't hesitate to tell me about errors if you find any!

I am not, in any sense, a phenominal writer. I'm actually a comic artist working on a comic known currently as _GreyRune_. Currently, I'm working on a contest entry for TokyoPop's RSOM5 contest, that needs to be postmarked by January 13, and I still have five pages left to draw/ink, and all 20 left to scan. I intend to have _Twelve Days of Christmas_ done by the 20th of December, but we'll see. I really need to finish my comic. ;;;

I rated this comic 'M' because I think I may add a lemon (or at least a link to one) later on. Please don't bother me, claiming that I rated my story wrongly.

On another note, I have never posted anything on FFN, and I'm not quite sure what and what not to expect from people. Honestly, I love reading SasuNaru more that most, and I just see this as my contribution to the SasuNaru community. Enjoy

**EDIT -- Spelling errors were corrected. Thanks so much Crazy novelist-san! Your help is very much appreciated!**

**Day one--**

The sun peeked its head out from the horizon, shedding a burst of vibrant color over the dull and sleeping land. Trees were hung with pale weights on their branches, and snow was piled high upon the ground.

And so began a new winter day in the city of Konoha.

Sunlight hit the lids of a blonde teen curled up in his bed. He emmited an irritated groan, but instead of getting up, he flipped himself over and drew the blankets closer, attempting to keep the warmth in while he tried to fall back aslee--

BRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNGGG!

Ice-blue eyes snapped open to the sound of their little froggy alarm clock before a complimenting fist smashed it to bits, permanently silencing it. He sat up in his bed, grumbling and smacking his lips. Executing an exaggerated yawn, he spared a glance at his damaged alarm clock... or what was left of it.

"Man... I have GOT to stop doing that!" He said, pulling back his covers and standing up, shivering slightly as his feet made contact with the cold floor. Slowly, he worked his way to the bathroom for a scalding shower.

Thirty minutes later, Uzumaki Naruto stepped into his kitchen, warm, awake, and ready to face the day. He made for his cupboards, and, grabbing a cup of ramen from inside, went about boiling some water.

Naruto still adored Ramen, even at his current age of seventeen, but he made a point not to eat it all the time, as a certain bastard deemed it "unhealthy" and "boring." It was the latter comment that had gotten Naruto all riled up, and they had argued (Naruto shouting and Sasuke lightly taunting) for a full twenty minutes before he 'challenged' Sasuke, claiming that he could eat more exciting foods than the bastard could. Naruto grinned at the memory. He thought he was winning.

His electric kettle made a small ding, telling Naruto that the water inside was ready to make ramen, and he didn't hesitate in doing just that.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto clapped his hands together, chopsticks supported by his thumbs before hungrily diving into his steaming meal. A small tapping noise on his window announced the arrival of his former sensei.

"Yo!" Kakashi grinned with the usual greeting, hopping through Naruto's now open window.

"Geez, Kakashi! Can't you use the door! You're letting all the cold air in!" Naruto huffed. Kakashi faked a sob before closing the window and seating himself across from his former student.

"So," Naruto began between sloppy slurps, "What brings you here?"

"Good news. Bad news."

"So which is it?" Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

"Depends on how you take it."

"Take what!"

"Nothing." He paused, glaring daggers at Kakashi.

"The hell!" Kakashi rummaged though his pockets and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

"Ah. Here! From Iruka!" Naruto hesitantly took the paper from him.

"Ja!" There was a poof of smoke, and he was gone. Naruto sighed and unfolded the paper.

_Naruto,_

_I have something that I'd like to speak to you about. If you don't mind, could you come by the academy later today? Preferably after class?_

_-Iruka_

"Huh." Naruto muttered after reading the letter several times, "Why would Kakashi deliver a message from Iruka? Unless--" He stopped speaking and stared at the letter.

"OH MY GOD! KAKASHI YOU PERVERT! YOU BETTER NOT HAVE DONE ANYTHING TO IRUKA!" With that, he bolted out the door, straight for the academy.

------------

"Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun! You have to help me!" A pink-haired kunoichi pleaded to a very sexy brunette.

"Hn." His black eyes stared uninterestedly at her. Sakura's cheeks puffed out in annoyance as she grabbed his arm.

"Please, Sasuke-kun! I need help finding a present for Lee-kun! I need a male's opinion!"

"Sakura, let go. I'm not going shopping." He yanked his arm from her grasp.

"Arrgghhhh! Where's Naruto when you need him!" Sakura pouted.

As if on cue, a pumpkin colored blur came speeding around a corner, and before the two could react--

WHAM!

"ITAI!" Naruto groaned, holding a hand to his head.

"Get off of me, Dobe."

"Heh?" He looked down and came face to face with...

A.

Very.

Pissed.

Uchiha.

"Sasuke? What're you doing down there?" Sasuke stared up at the blonde nin, a light blush staining his cheeks. Oh, the sexual implications of that statement ...

Embarrassment quickly turned to anger as he stood up, pushing Naruto off of him.

"Ow! Baka teme..." Naruto hissed to the retreating figure.

"Honestly," Sakura said while helping Naruto up, "He's so cranky today. I can't for the life of me figure out what's wrong ."

"Feh! Who cares about the bastard."

_You do, Naruto. _Sakura sighed, taking a moment to look at her old teammate.

The years had done Naruto great justice, his baby fat replaced by lean muscle. His hair was a little longer and, if possible, much messier than it used to be, and his whisker-like scars were more prominent. But the most startling feature was his eyes, and their slitted pupils.

During the battle with Orochimaru, the Kyuubi met an undesirable fate. Having been exhausted from fighting for so long, Naruto had retreated into the recesses of his mind, allowing the Kyuubi to take over for a little while when something unexpected happened. Orochimaru and Kabuto perform ed a Jutsu no-one had ever thought possible -- a soul-sealing Jutsu. The way they saw it, if Naruto's soul was gone, then only the Kyuubi would remain and capturing it would be easy while it got used to its new body. Little did they know of the switch between consciousnesses that had taken place in the young nin's body.

Naruto's mind awoke to the screams of the Kyuubi, and in a desperate move to save it, he grabbed hold of its tails and refused to let go. Pain had shot through his body, and his chakra limits were broken and revised, and the world went black.

When he woke up the kyuubi was gone, but Naruto could still feel its power coursing through his veins and he knew then that he had managed to fuse with the fox.

It was difficult adjusting to his new abilities, and dealing with the loss of others. His smell, and hearing abilities had increased considerably, and seeing in the dark was no longer a problem. He had even managed to create new Jutsu's that he knew only he could perform . Sakura smiled. But now if his opening points were sealed by Neji or Hinata in a fight, he couldn't summon more chakra like he could before.

They'd been through a lot.

But Naruto wasn't the only one who had changed. Sakura had changed quite a bit herself. She was now equipped with sharp-curves and plump breasts--though no where near the size of Tsunade's. She had kept her hair short, her fore-head protector now tied around her neck. She had given up on Sasuke after the War with the Sound, and was very glad that she had. Lee was wonderful to her, but Sasuke would always be a good friend as Naruto would since he had gotten over his crush on her.

"Ne, Naruto!" Sakura said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"Come help me pick out a present for Lee-kun!" She tugged on his orange and black jacket sleeve.

"Sa! Okay!" He eagarly followed her, completely forgetting about Kakashi and poor Iruka.

------------

Naruto took his time browsing through the stores. He hadn't really had anything planned for today so he wasn't feeling rushed at all.

Even though Christmas was only twelve days away.

"Say, Naruto..."

"Yeah?" Sakura bit her lip, unsure of how to continue. She was treading on eggshells.

"Have you... Have you gotten anything for Sasuke yet?" Naruto shot her a queer look.

"Ehhhh! Why would I get the bastard anything!".

"Naruto. You get him something every year." There was a small pause in their conversation.

"Well, not this year." Sakura sighed.

"That's what you said LAST year, and you went ahead and bought him those giant shurikans he loves so much." Naruto looked away. "He ADORED that gift from you!" She stressed the 'from you part' for effect, and snickered at the red bluch plastered on his face.

"Th-tha-that's just---" Sakura gave him a mischievous grin through narrowed eyes.

"Look, I just... I..." She nodded to tell him to continue. He sighed. "I just can't find the right gift this year."

There was an uneasy pause in their conversation. Well, uneasy for Naruto.

"Why do you keep bringing him up!" Sakura couldn't help but smile wider.

"Because you like him!" The loudest ninja in Konoha was silent.

"WHAT! I--I-- But--- you don't-- He's a--!" The blush on his face deepened with every word he spoke.

"You were saying?" She asked him, smile still plastered on her face. In a desperate attempt to change the subject, Naruto grabbed her hand and yanked her over to the nearest shop _Youthful Me_.

"This place looks good Sakura! We can find a gift for Lee in here!" Sakura rolled her eyes at him, but followed all the same.

------------

Elsewhere...

Sasuke was pretty pissed. Not only had he woken up to find his heater broken, but he had been dragged out of his house as eight in the morning by his bubble-gum haired friend to go shopping for her boyfriend, only to be mowed down by a crazed Naruto, then molested several times by his 'rabid' fangirls.

Yeah, just a little pissed.

He was currently at former team seven's training grounds beating the shit out of a brand new log. The mud covering his body didn't do much for his pale complexion and even stood out on his lustrous black hair. His onyx eyes were wide even though his face was scrunched up in anger and concentration. His muscles were tensed, and his jacket was torn in various places. The ground and many of the surrounding trees were charred from his fire jutsu's, hence the reason that there was mud everywhere instead of snow.

Sasuke found that he was always edgy this time of year, though he had no good reason why. He blamed it on the influx of fangirls that kept popping up everywhere, giving him what they thought to be 'romantic confessions of love' and small (sometimes large) gifts. There were even stalkers this year, whom he had been so close to charring had it not been for Naruto bopping him over the side of the head every time he tried.

Naruto...

That stupid dobe always had a way of sneaking into his thoughts and calming him down even when he wasn't around. Feeling the anger ebb away from him, Sasuke gathered up his things. Training was over for today. He stopped collecting his weapons when he reached the giant shuriken lodged in a tree. He smiled and ran a finger down the metallic edge remembering the previous year.

_"Oi! Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted across the living room of the Uchiha estates. Sasuke's friends had decided to host a Christmas party at his house this year._

_"What is it, dobe?" Naruto flinched at the insult, but decided to over-look it this one time. It was Christmas eve after all._

_"I gotcha somthin'!" His grin threatened to split his face in two as he thrust a large box, poorly wrapped, towards Sasuke. He hesitated a moment before taking the box tentatively from the smiling idiot and preceded to un-wrap it._

_Sasuke's eyes widened well beyond what everyone thought the ice-prince was capable of. His shaky fingers reached into the box while a crowd of curious fellow ninjas crowded around him. _

_"Na... Naruto.." He breathed, shocked at how the blonde ninja knew about his favorite weapon. Naruto just beamed at him._

_"Like 'em, huh? I found them in some shop in the Lightning Country when I was traveling with Ero-senin!" It took all the self-control the poor Uchiha boy could muster not to jump his rival right then and there and squeeze him to death. Instead, he smiled a small, true smile, causing even some taken hearts in the room to melt._

_"Thanks dobe." The whole room gasped, never thinking that Sasuke would ever thank anyone._

His nostalgic happiness was interrupted by a rather rude, yet pressing thought.

_What would he get Naruto for Christmas?_

Well, he knew what he _wanted_ to give him for Christmas... it was just a matter of whether or not he should... and if Naruto would accept it.

No, of course he wouldn't. Naruto was straight, he was sure of that. God was so cruel to him.

Sasuke wasn't the gift-giving type either. He almost never bought people presents and they never bought him any, knowing that he would probably throw them away amongst his ever-growing pile of presents from his fans.

But he usually got Sakura, Naruto, and Kakashi cards on their birthdays if he remembered (he never forgot Naruto's birthday, and usually slipped in a gift-certificate to Ichiraku's). Sasuke knew that Naruto would love another gift-certificate, but he wanted this gift to be special. He wanted to let Naruto know how he felt, without having to tell him, or have it be obvious to anyone who may see it later. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose to try and suppress a minor headache caused by too much stress as he turned to leave the training grounds and head towards home.

He desperately needed a shower.

------------

"Naruto, it's perfect!" Sakura exclaimed, hugging her shopping bag to her chest. Naruto laughed.

"Yeah! I hope Lee likes it!"

"Oh he will! I know he will!" She was so giddy that he was wondering if they had switched personalities for a moment.

"Was he the last person on your shopping list?"

"Yep!"

"Can I walk you home then?"

"Nope."

"Okay then, see ya around!" He waved to her and turned to go.

"Huh? Naruto? Where're you going?"

"To train. Where else?" She shook her head.

"No you're not! We're going Sasuke shopping!"

"WHAT!" He shrieked .

"Maaa... Naruto, do you have to be so loud? How troublesome..." A lazy ninja strolled up behind them, a sexy and very bossy blonde clinging to his arm.

"Shikamaru!"

"Hi Ino! Hi Shikamaru!" Sakura waved at them.

"Hey, Sakura! Is that for Lee?" Ino asked, pointing to the bag Sakura was clutching to her chest.

"Yep! Naruto helped me pick it out!" Shikamaru was about to ask Naruto if he was shopping for Sasuke, but decided it was too troublesome. Ino decided to ask instead.

"Were you shopping for Sasuke, Naruto?" He blushed madly.

"DID YOU TELL THE WHOLE FREAKKIN' VILLAGE, SAKURA!" She smiled.

"Only a few friends."

"Geez, it's not like we didn't already know..." Naruto gaped at the lazy nin.

"Y--you knew!"

"It's not THAT hard to figure out, Naruto." Ino rebutted. Naruto slumped.

"My life... is now over..." he grumbled.

"I'll take that as an 'I haven't gotten him anything yet'." Ino said with a click of her tongue. "Shame on you."

"I can't figure out what to get him..." He whined.

"Oh come on! You're his best friend! How do you not know what to get him!" Ino said incredulously.

"I don't hear you giving me any great ideas." Naruto muttered under his breath.

"Well then why don't you get a trip for two to a hot-springs? You can get your groove on there! Huh? Huh?" Ino winked and elbowed Naruto, only receiving a furious glare and blush.

"Ino!" Sakura warned. The blonde girl shrugged.

"Hey, it gets the message across."

"So troublesome..." Muttered a bored Shikamaru.

"We've gotta go guys. Good luck with Sasuke, Naruto! Later Sakura!" Ino shouted, reattaching herself to her boyfriend and walking into the shopping plaza.

"Hey! Naruto! Where're you going!" Sakura shouted after a sprinting blonde.

"TRAINING!" She sighed and shook her head.

_Men._

------------

Naruto stepped into team seven's training grounds and quite literally bumped into the last person he had wanted to see.

"Sasuke!"

"Watch it, dobe." Naruto peered around at Sasuke's things, smiling inwardly to himself when he saw the oversized shurikens.

_I need to find something he likes more than those shuriken._

"Move, dobe. I need to get by." Naruto hesitated before flashing him his trademark grin.

"Don't feel like it." Sasuke's temple twitched slightly. This was not a good day.

"Move."

"No."

"Move!"

"No!"

"Damnit, Naruto! Move!"

"No way, teme!" He shouted lunging at his dark counterpart. Sasuke side-stepped, whipping his arm around to smack Naruto on the back, only to find himself parried with his rivals leg, his hands supporting him. The Uchiha sneered, and the battle began.

Panting and sweating, the two teens collapsed in the surrounding snow. The sun had just started its decent beyond the clouds, and the sky was a water colored masterpiece.

"I win, teme."

"You wish."

"Bastard."

"Dobe."

"Hmph." Naruto didn't bother to continue the spat. He instead tried to focus on cooling himself off in the snow.

Sasuke stole a glance at the blonde nin.

_He looks so cute when he's all tuckered out like that_. he thought to himself, almost smiling. Almost being the key word, because everyone knows that Uchiha's don't smile so easily. For once, Naruto was quiet after training, and Sasuke was grateful for the silence. And the exercise too, but he wasn't about to admit that.

_I should just ask him what he wants. It... couldn't hurt... right?_ Sasuke gulped. Easier said than done. Sasuke took a deep breath, gathering most of the courage he could, and opening his mouth to ask--

"Maaa... Sasuke. What do you want for Christmas?"

A pause.

"What?" Naruto let out a small breath of frustration.

"You're so hard to shop for, and I've used up all my gift ideas... Don't you have any hobbies or somethin'?" Sasuke hesitated again with this question.

_I'm not really hard to shop for, Naruto, anything you get me I'll like._ He thought to himself. _Hobbies, huh? I'm not telling you about those. I'll just freak you out with all of the photos and things of you in the box under my bed... _A light blush crept up on him, though it was thankfully hidden from sight by the cold of the snow and the heat left over from training.

"...suke? Sasuke? Helloooo?" Naruto waved a hand in front of Sasuke's face, trying to pull him out of his daze.

"Hn?"

"What do you want for Christmas?"

"I... don't want anything." He lied. Naruto stared at him in disbelief.

"What!"

"Christmas is a... family tradition. I don't like celebrating it." Naruto looked slightly shocked at the new information, before nodding in something akin to understanding. Naruto didn't much like celebrating family holidays either unless there was someone to spend it with.

"Oh... OH!" The sudden outburst almost made Sasuke jump out of his skin. "I've got it!"

"Hm?"

"You can come celebrate Christmas with Iruka and Kakashi! They won't mind!" It was Sasuke's turn to stare.

"Iruka... and Kakashi...?" Sasuke stared blankly at his companion.

"Sure! They won't mind! They never do!" Naruto's grin widened some more.

"Kakashi... and Iruka..." Sasuke rolled the term around his head once more.

"Uh... yeah."

"Are they a couple?" He asked, slightly nervous.

_Maybe... if they are... and Naruto's not freaked out about it... just maybe... there's a chance... for me. _The onyx boy licked the salt off of his lips in thought.

"Yeah! They've been together for a while and--" Naruto's eyes widened.

"Dobe?" Suddenly, Naruto jumped up and bolted out of the clearing shouting one phrase.

"DAMN YOU KAKASHIIIIIIIIIII!"

It was all Sasuke could do, to stare at his slightly mental friend.

------------

"Ruka-koi!" Kakashi called out from the living room. "Ruka?" Iruka dashed out from the kitchen, flinging his arms around his lover.

"Ka-koi! You're back early!"

"Yep! I had to make sure that I was home for Christmas!" Kakashi said, pulling down his mask enough to give Iruka a kiss.

"Kakashi..."

"Yes?"

"Christmas is twelve days away..."

"YOU MEAN I'M EARLY!" Kakashi almost dropped his lover when the statement his him. He'd never been early! Never! It was unheard of! Preposterous !

"But I'm really glad you're here! Now we can pick up where we left off!" Iruka said with a smile, and another quick kiss. Kakashi felt a small nosebleed coming on when he thought of the sexual implications of that statement. He was interrupted when Iruka shoved a shopping list into his hands along with a small purse.

"You can do the Christmas shopping while I'm grading papers!" Kakashi could only stare while Iruka bounded back into the kitchen humming a small tune. He sighed.

_Better do what he says. I don't want to sleep on the couch during Christmas!_ A poof of purple smoke and he was gone. And not a moment too soon.

BAM!

"KAKASHI!" Naruto bellowed, slamming the door open. Iruka marched out of the kitchen in full-blown mother-hen mode. If ever there was a perfect time to say "oh shit", now would be it.

"NARUTO! Keep you're voice down! Kakashi just left, and unless you want to clean this entire house bound-and-gagged, I suggest you STOP YELLING!"

"Iruka-sensei! Did Kakashi hurt you? You're Ok, right? I swear, if that bastard did anything perverted I'll-" A hard thwack on the head was enough to silence the jounin.

"Kakashi is not a bastard, and he didn't do anything perverted." ..._Yet. _Iruka added under his breath. Naruto blinked a few times.

"He didn't?"

"No."

"Then what did you want to see me about?" Iruka stared at him for a moment, before he remembered.

"Ah, yes. Naruto, do you have any plans for Christmas?"

"I was gonna come over for dinner and charades like I usually do, why?" A moment of silence, then--

"Naruto... Last week, Kakashi won a raffle during the Jounin Christmas Party--"

"I know, I was there." Naruto interrupted . Iruka cleared his throat.

"Yes, well, the prize was a trip for two to a hot springs in the Grass Country on Christmas eve." Naruto's eyes were downcast, and it tore at Iruka's heart strings.

"Naruto... I'm sorry. I know you were looking forward to this..." Naruto brushed Iruka's hand off of his shoulder.

"No... it's Okay... I'll just find Sasuke another Christmas present." The Chuuin was puzzled.

"Sasuke?"

"Yeah... I couldn't find him anything, so I invited him over here instead. I'm sorry. That was stupid." Iruka put on a soft, encouraging smile.

"Hey, don't worry. We'll find something for Sasuke. There's eight days until Kakashi and I leave for the Grass country, and twelve days until Christmas. I'm sure we can find him something." Naruto looked up, a small hopeful smile tugging at his lips.

"Yeah. I'll get him the best present ever!" Iruka couldn't help but laugh at his enthusiasm.

"That's the spirit. How about some hot cocoa?"

"Yeah!" Naruto bounded after his father figure into the kitchen.

------------

**End Day One--**

Some quick notes for those who don't know:

-Teme teh-meh means bastard/jerk/jackass and similar insults. It can be used as a suffix when referring to people you don't like (or secretly do in this case), and it's Naruto's 'nickname' for Sasuke.

-Baka bah-kah as a noun, it means idiot, and as an adjective it means stupid

-Dobe dough-beh means dead-last. It's Sasuke's 'nickname' for Naruto.

-Itai ee-tah-ee Similar to the expletive "ow". Used to express hurt or physical pain.

-Itadakimasu ee-tah-dah-key-mahss "Let's eat". Used before a meal, kinda like a prayer, but not really.

-Sa sah Can be translated as 'okay' or 'yeah'.

-Ne neh Usually placed on the ends of sentences to state agreement, or ask if something's correct. In this particular case, it was used at the beginning of a sentence , so it therefore is more of a pleading phrase akin to "you'll do this with me, won't you?"

I don't think I missed any vocab, but don't hesitate to ask! I pretty sure that if you're reading this you know what "Jounin" "Chuuin" "Genin" and "Ramen" mean. I mean, I should hope you do if you read/watch the series at all.


	2. Day Two

A/N: Here we go again! Ready for the second update! This chapter was fun to write, as it required a lot of foreshadowing about where the story will go. 90 of this chapter came about as I was typing, and led to A LOT of really interesting ideas, all of which I shall include (or I hope to).

I'm not sure If I can get this done for Christmas, but I'm going to do my best. I only have eight days or so to write this story, and that come out to be more than one chapter a day.

Anywayz, I'm sorry for the lack of other characters in this chapter. I really meant to include more of the ninja's interactions, but I came up with so many different ideas, that it was really hard to incorporate them all. I'll just cram them into later chapters. Yar.

Enjoy

**Day Two--**

"Irukaaaa-senseiiii! Buy me ramen!" A vixen-like grin was plastered on Naruto's childish face as he tugged on Iruka's scarf.

"Gak! Stop tugging!" Iruka snatched his scarf out of the boys clutches and rubbed his throat. "Naruto, it's barely eleven... I thought you wanted to buy a present for Sasuke?" Naruto looked at him, his smile no longer upon his mouth and instead lingering in his eyes with a hint of coyness.

"I know."

"And you just got up an hour ago!"

"Yeah..."

"It's cold!"

"And?" Iruka groaned to himself. He really didn't want the mutter the next phrase, but it was the only thing that could deter Naruto from ramen.

"--And Ichiraku's is closed for the holidays."

A small gap in the conversation before the silence was spilt in two.

"WHAT!" Iruka cringed, lifting a gloved hand to his freashly deaf ears. "Nooooooooo! Ichiraku... My ramen! WHY!"

"Because everyone needs a break from you sometimes, Usurotonkatchi." Naruto had been so caught up in his ramen pity-party, that he hadn't sensed the presence of a certain Uchiha boy, and nearly jumped out of his skin at the utterance of the voice.

"Sasuke-teme! Don't sneak up on me!" Sasuke cocked one eyebrow.

"I didn't." Naruto pointed an accusing finger at his rival.

"Don't lie! I know you were try--"

"Naruto, we've got shopping to do. If you don't mind, Ja Sasuke." Iruka promptly grabbed Naruto's collar and dragged him away.

Sasuke blinked twice, staring in the direction that the dobe and his old teacher went. No one had ever interrupted his bantering with Naruto. It was... unheard of. Sasuke wasn't able to see Naruto much as it was because as Jounin's, they had separate missions and separate lives. They were rarely paired up together for missions (seeing as the amount of strength the both of them had combined was more than a usual three-man Jounin cell, it wasn't necessary), and with conflicting schedules, sparring was a rare treat. A deep spring of irritation sprouted somewhere in the bowels of the ninja's mind, and from that spring came a fairly sinister (and fairly harmless) plot.

Iruka may want to watch his back for a while.

Yesterday, the shopping plaza had been open, and freezing. Today, it was warm, and a thick wooden dome surrounded the entire area. During the Christmas season, the Hokage would order a large encasement be constructed around the stores to attract customers. It truly wasn't the Godaime's idea (the elders made the decision), but she held jurisdiction over the affairs of ninjas who used the art of summoning wood, so construction was always swift, literally taking place overnight.

"What was that for!" Naruto growled, walking down the dirt pathway.

"Naruto, shops close early this time of year. We only have until two o'clock to find a gift." Naruto stared at him, wide-eyed.

"We only have THREE HOURS!" For the second time that day, Iruka found himself deaf in one ear.

"Yes. We would have had another two, but someone decided to take after Kakashi and show up late."

"Why is it MY fault! My stupid frog didn't croak this morning!" He huffed. Iruka gave him an amused look before pushing open a door to a nearby shop.

"I won't bother to ask..." He murmured to himself. A little bell placed above the door as they entered.

The shop's walls were completely covered from floor to ceiling with smooth metal objects. Weapons of every shape and size, with their freshly whetted edges just screaming to be plunged into some unsuspecting enemy. It was much warmer in here than it was in the outdoor corridor, probably because heat was radiating off of the coal fires stoked in the blacksmith's shop out back. It most certainly was the cause for the grime that seemed to cling to everything but the steel and silver creations.

"Nee... Iruka-sensei, why are we in a weapons shop?" Naruto asked with a curious air.

"Well, I really don't know much about Sasuke, and I thought this was a good place to start looking."

"Yeah, that's what I said last year when I got him those shuriken." He said looking around a bit.

"Well then, let's get him some more weapons." Iruka suggested, picking up a kunai with a hooked tip. Naruto just shook his head.

"No way. I mean, I would, but I don't ever give the same gift twice!" He folded his arms across his chest in a decisive manner. "Besides... Sasuke can buy just about anything he wants. Getting him something in Konoha is just... pointless."

"But you bought him--"

"Those came from the Lightning country! They were special!" Iruka sighed.

"Naruto," he began, peering at the Jounin through an inquisitive eye, "if Sasuke can buy anything he wants, then why are we shopping in Konoha for a gift?"

"I dunno. You dragged me here." Iruka's temple throbbed slightly.

"If you didn't want me to help you pick out a gift, then what did you want me to do?"

"Buy me ramen."

"How does that help?"

"I think better with ramen." Iruka's jaw became slack as he stared in disbelief.

"So you wanted me to help you brainstorm."

"Yeah!" He sighed.

"I'll never understand your logic."

"But it's not logical! It just... is!"

"Listen. I took the day off so I could help you go shopping, but I still have a mountain of papers to grade, and a practical exam to prepare for before Christmas break begins. Why don't you tell me what Sasuke likes, and I try to think of something later."

"What Sasuke likes?"

"Yes." Naruto's brow furrowed in thought. He didn't really know what Sasuke liked. Sure, he knew the boy's preferences on food, privacy, clothes, weapons, and jutsus, but when it came to hobbies, he was at a total loss.

"Umm.. he likes... Onigiri..? And Ninjitsu! Ohh! And he really, really likes teaberry gum!"

"You don't know, do you?" Naruto hung his head, a little embarrassed.

"Umm.. no. No, not really." Iruka rolled his eyes with a small smile.

"Alright. I'll try to think of something. I better be going then, Naruto. Ja!"

"Ja." Naruto waved. The bell sounded, and Iruka was gone.

It really bothered Naruto how he didn't know what Sasuke's hobbies were after five years, but he supposed it couldn't be helped. His rival was rather stoic and didn't make it a point to let everyone know about his interests. Naruto knew that from his personal experiences experimenting with Sasuke's privacy boundaries. That was a memory he really did not want to bring back up. He shuddered.

He's never been able to look at rubber duckies quite the same.

The only person who would ever know of any of the Uchiha's sources of amusement would be a stalker and who on earth would want to--

_Sakura!_

For a short while, Naruto had completely forgotten about Sasuke's throng of fangirls -- of which Sakura and her friend Ino, had been proud members. They'd have to know something, right!

------------

"Sakura? SAAA-KUUUU-RAAAAAA!" Naruto called through the open door of Sakura's house. He didn't dare go in as her parents were still wary of him.

"Where is she?"

"Oi! Naruto! Sakura's not home!" He turned around to find Ino and a blushing (or maybe it was just the cold, he never could tell with her) Hinata.

"Then why's her door open?"

"Her parents are preparing for a big Christmas party they're throwing on Christmas eve. Sakura went over to Lee's for the day."

"Ah." Naruto exhaled a frustrated breath. He definitely didn't want to interrupt Lee and Sakura during their "alone time", so he'd have to either ask tomorrow or find it himself.

"Sasuke troubles?" Ino asked him with a coy smirk. Hinata was wringing her fingers looking curiously at her female companion.

"D-did Naruto-k-kun and Sa-sasuke-kun fight a-again...?" She stuttered quietly.

"Something like that." Ino said, smiling wider.

"Ino! You were part of Sasuke's fan club a while ago, right?" She was a little surprised at this question. It wasn't one she had been expecting.

"Yeah. I was. Why?"

"Where can I find it?"

"Yeah... they meet at a small cabin about a half-mile behind the Uchiha estates. Why?"

"GOTTAGOEXPLAINLATERBYE!" Naruto shouted with a huge grin, and disappearing in a true ninja fashion.

"Umm... Ino-san? W-why does Naruto-k-kun want to g-go to Sasuke-kun's fan c-club?" Ino gave her a knowing look.

"You still have the hots for that boy?" It wasn't possible, but somehow, Hinata blushed harder.

"You may wanna give up on him while you still can, hun. That boy's taken." Hinata felt a forceful tug on her heart strings.

"O-oh.. I see..." Her eyes softened in defeat. She had lost him before she could ever have him. Ino put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"But, I do seem to recall a certain dog-boy and his puppy flirting with you yesterday at the plaza." She teased. Forgetting her minor pain, and getting caught up in embarrassment, Hinata's blush returned full force.

------------

It was quiet.

Too quiet.

To Naruto who was normally loud, the quiet was chilling and brought butterflies of anticipation to his stomach. He was hidden behind a large pile of snow set right beside the walkway into the Sasuke fanclub meeting house. He hollowed out a small hole to peer at the girls entering the building, checking for any signs of female ninjas. When he was sure that there wasn't any, he grinned.

_Operation find-out-what-Sasuke-does-in-his-spare-time, start!_ Naruto thought to himself, stifling an impending cackle.

"Sexy no Jutsu!" He whispered, clapping his hands together in a kata seal, and releasing a large bout of smoke.

"Perfect." He purred in a voice several octaves higher than his own. He then proceeded to cast a small Genjutsu over his jacket, eyes, and whisker marks on his cheeks so no one could recognize him. He left the blonde pigtails, not really knowing what to do with them, and stood up on slender legs.

"Let's do this."

Sasuke stared at Naruto from his perch in a nearby tree. He had been following the dobe ever since he saw Naruto running at a breakneck speed towards his house, skirting it, then stopping here at the location of a fanclub he wasn't aware of. He made a small mental note to burn down the cabin once his fans had left for the day.

"What is that dobe doing?" Sasuke muttered under his breath, watching the female Naruto knock on the door and step inside. His heart crept up into his throat, its tempo already at an unbearable beat. Sasuke swallowed as the total surreal-ness of the situation set in. _Naruto _was _posing as a girl _to attend _HIS fanclub's_ meeting! Doesn't that mean that there's hope for him? Like a swift and silent shadow, he leapt from the tree and slipped into position next to a window.

_This should be interesting._

The brown haired girl who had answered the door ushered Naruto into one of the middle rows in what looked to be a small auditorium.

"The meeting will start soon ummm….?"

"Taruna!" Naruto beamed at the girl.

"Right. Taruna-chan! I'll introduce you and give you everything you need to get started Sasuke watching!" He kept smiling on the outside, but on the inside, he was a little nervous.

_Sasuke watching? What the hell!_ His eyes darted left and right as the seats in all of the isles began to fill.

_Can't back out now._

"I hereby call this meeting to order!" The president, a girl with long black hair tied behind her with a pink ribbon, was standing at the podium. Like all of the regular members, she was donning a dark blue shirt with Sasuke's picture on it, and a white skirt.

_Talk about obsessed… Sasuke wore that kind of outfit when we were twelve! How long has he been stalked for!_ Naruto thought to himself.

"We have a new member today, let's all welcome Taruna!" The fangirls clapped and cheered and Naruto had to fight down a blush.

"Chelsea, would you please give Taruna her Sasuke watching kit?"

"Yes ma'am!" The girl, Chelsea, who seated Naruto handed him a large black bag with a modified heart-shaped Uchiha fan embroidered on the front.

"After the meeting, I'll brief you on your duties as a new recruit." Chelsea whispered. Naruto gulped, sat back in his chair, and prepared himself for the upcoming speech.

Twenty minutes later, the girls were mingling amongst themselves, chatting about their favorite subject - Sasuke.

"Alright! Let's get your started!" Chelsea took Naruto's bag from him and started pulling out the contents.

"This is your camera. It's wonderful for taking pictures in the dark, underwater, sandstorms, rainstorms, and it takes wonderful snapshots!"

_WHAT THE HELL! _He screamed inside his own head. He fought hard to keep his face straight.

"This is your Sasuke watcher notebook! This is where you record everything about Sasuke that you see him do or say. There are even blank pages to draw sketches of him! We have a monthly art contest to see who can capture Sasuke the best!"

_Oh my god….._

"Here's your tape recorder, mini camcorder, headset, phone bugs - no one uses these -" Naruto was wondering if she was ever going to shut up when she pulled out the last and final item.

"-And this is your Sasuke handbook! Everything you want to know about Sasuke, including possible gift ideas! It is the Christmas season, you know! It's only appropriate that you get him something!"  
"Ah! Thank you!" Naruto quickly shoved everything into the bag, and bolted out the door. Chelsea blinked a few times.  
"Ummm..."

------------

Sasuke left the fanclub the instant Naruto had taken off. To say he was a little confused would be an understatement. Perhaps he should visit the dobe... no, he didn't have an excuse. It would look too suspicious.

"Uchiha-san." A tall Hyuuga boy said in a monotone voice. Sasuke looked up to find Neji leaning against his door.

"Hyuuga..." He said with a slight nod.

"Come with me. Tsunade-sama wishes to speak to you about a new mission."

"Hn." Sasuke nodded again, following Neji by rooftop to the Hokage tower.

------------

Naruto managed to make it all the way to his apartment before dropping the Genjutsu and changing back into his male form.

"This better be worth the effort..." he grumbled flipping open the book and scanning over the table of contents. Once he found the "Holiday Gift" listing (page 103), he turned to the section and began to read. The first holiday was Valentines day. One of the most important holidays for young girls in love.

_Sasuke loves to get Valentine gifts! Milk chocolate with marshmallow filling are his favorite candies, though he also adores rainbow lollipops, and saltwater taffy. His favorite cake is Chocolate with fudge frosting, and the more effort you put into your gift, the more he appreciates it!_

"What the hell!" Naruto swore. Sasuke didn't like milk chocolate with marshmallow! He liked basic bittersweet bars.

"Rainbow lollipops? Dude... that was a dare from Sakura... were they stalking us then! And Sasuke hates taffy! It sticks to his teeth and lingers there for days..."

_Sasuke also loves it when girls confess to him! It makes him feel loved and special, and no matter how many confessions of love he receives, he never stops listening. _

"Yeah right! He has to hide from those freakkin' girls all the time!"

_Cards are also a wonderful gift. He always keeps them and has a whole box of valentines from girls all over the village stored under his bed!_

"...the hell!"

_But be on the lookout! Sasuke has been reportedly thinking of a certain someone in that special way! He even masturbates to pictures of them! Rumors state that his crush is a blonde, but that information is questionable. Everyone has a chance! Maybe you're his special person!_

Naruto stared at the last paragraph.

"This is bullshit."

"What's bullshit?" A deep voice startled Naruto out of his 'reading trance'.

"SASUKE!" The blonde flushed a brilliant shade of magenta when Sasuke picked up the blue shirt with his picture on it.

"...Something you're not telling me, dobe?" He said with a smirk.

"Piss off, bastard." Naruto managed to hiss through his nervousness. "Do you always have to sneak up on me!" The raven boy just shrugged.

"You should be more alert." Naruto puffed out his cheeks in anger.

"You... you... ARRRGHHHH!" He screamed, not being able to think of a comeback to his rival's statement.

"Hn... Get ready to leave, Naruto." The jounin felt his anger leave him at the sound of his name.

"What? Why?"

"Tsunade gave us a mission."

------------

Vocab--

Ja - jah - A way of saying "later".


	3. Day Three

A/N: Late? Yes, I know. I had a concert last night and wasn't able to work on the story at all, let alone post it.

And yes, I am aware that this chapter is readily short. Day Four, Seven, and Eight will all be fairly short too, as the only things that take place on those days is traveling back and forth from the Snow Country.

Anywayz, I tried my hand at a kind of limey joke, at the end. It makes it easier to start the next chapter that way.

Ja

**Day Three--**

"Mission? But aren't we on Christmas leave?" Sasuke shook his head.

"No, Tsunade said that we're the only two who didn't ask for vacation." Naruto cursed under his breath.

"What kinda mission?"

"Find and retrieve."

"So that's why she needs both of us."

"Yeah. So get ready. We're leaving in an hour." Sasuke eyed the shirt on the floor, before departing, leaving a very flushed Naruto sitting on the floor.

"AUUUGGGHHHHHHHH!" He screamed. "He's gonna tease me about this the whole mission, I just know it!"

How was he going to last with Sasuke on this mission?

------------

Bags packed, weapons set, and rations obtained, Naruto stood at the Konoha gates.

"Hn... Ready to go?" Sasuke asked from his perch at the top of the wall. Naruto nodded.

"Yeah. Let's go."

A quick jump, and they were off.

"So where are we going?" Naruto asked, realizing that he knew absolutely nothing about this mission.

"Ice country." The kyuubi almost missed a branch at those words.

"WHAT!" He screamed, flabbergasted.

"Keep your voice down." Sasuke hissed.

"It's freakkin' cold there!"

"Hn." Naruto let out a whiny groan. This would be hell.

"We're supposed to retrieve a forbidden scroll that the Yukikage is going to lend Tsunade-sama. One of us will carry the scroll, and the other will defend it."

"Alright! I get to kick some butt!" He grinned.

"Actually, you'll be carrying the scroll."

"What! Why!"

"Because you can use the Kagebunshin to lose the enemy." Naruto went silent with a small grumble.

_Damn cocky bastard... always has to be right..._

Several hours passed away in silence, and Sasuke was starting to get a little worried. Usually, Naruto wouldn't shut up no matter how many times you told him to, but recently he had been curiously quiet.

It unnerved him to see the boy quiet. As much as he didn't want to admit it, it was Naruto's constant bantering that kept him calm on these missions together. He could all ready feel his heart rate speed up.

_Damnit, Naruto! Why won't you talk to me?_ Sasuke thought, as if this telepathic message would actually reach him.

A few more minutes passed, and Sasuke was groaning inwardly.

_If he doesn't start talking soon, I'm going to--_

"Sasuke...?"

_Finally!_

"Hn?" There was another pause, and Sasuke could feel his temple throbbing in irritation.

"Do you..." Naruto's face went downcast.

"Do I what?" The Uzumaki shook his head at his original question, and asked a different, more expected one instead.

"How far is it to the Snow Country?"

"You've been there before, dobe. You know how far it is." The older nin raised an eyebrow to his companion, but he only shrugged.

"I forgot." Sasuke sighed in mock-annoyance. Inside, he was glad for something to break the silence that threatened to smother him.

"It should only take us four days, round trip."

"Ah... right." Sasuke bit his tongue, knowing that Naruto wasn't going to speak again for a while. He really didn't want to, but the sudden change in Naruto's attitude was bothering him so much, that he was seriously considering starting a conversation -- something he hadn't done in a very long time.

"What's with you?" Bright blue eyes stared up at him.

"Huh?"

"You're quiet." Naruto's expression was comical, with wide eyes, and a huge blush that rivaled Hinata's.

"Hehhhh!"

"You haven't spoken in over seven hours." An open jaw was thrown into the facial mix.

"It's been that long!" He nodded. "Wow."

"What were you doing?"

"Thinking." Sasuke almost lost his footing. Now he _knew_ that there was something wrong.

"About?"

"Stuff."

"That doesn't help."

"It's not supposed to."

"Well I can't help you if you don't tell me anything." Sasuke immediately regretted the words as soon as they came out of his mouth. Naruto's big, marble eyes gaped at his rival.

"I didn't know you cared... about that." Mentally, Sasuke was smashing his head repeatedly into a large brick wall.

"I don't." A teasing grin spread itself over Naruto's visage.

"You sounded like you did."

"Whatever, dobe."

"TEME! Don't call me that!" And the chase was on.

Sasuke was in the lead, the need to keep his smile hidden from his rival was driving him to keep moving forward quickly, but not too fast or the dobe would get lost.

"DAMNIT SASUKE!" A taunt flew harmlessly through the air, and the Uchiha was glad for the noise.

------------

It was only when the sun had set several hours afterwards that Sasuke stopped and Naruto followed suit, both tired from traveling faster then they had to.

"Teme..." Naruto wheezed.

"Dobe." Sasuke breathed so softly it was almost a whisper. All thoughts were halted as tiny white crystals floated softly from the sky.

"Waaaahh! Sasuke-teme! It's snowing!"

"We're closer than I thought." Sasuke mused.

"Snow! It's SNOWING!" The younger jounin jumped and danced around.

"So much energy..." Sasuke muttered.

"Dobe, stop jumping around like you've never seen it before." Naruto stuck his tongue out at him.

"Jerk."

"You'll be sick of it by the morning."

"Will not!"

"Hn." The banter was comfortable. Expected.

Sasuke activated his Sharingan, and, recalling a certain justu he had stolen a few years back, began forming katas at an alarming speed.

"Teme? What're you doing?" The ground split underneath Sasuke's feet, causing the ground the shake a little.

"Whooaaaa!" Naruto stared wide-eyed at the small cabin underneath Sasuke.

"Come on, dobe." He said, opening the front door and leaving it open for the other to enter. Naruto ran inside.

"Ehhh! Sasuke! When did you learn how to do Wood-jutsu!" The raven just shrugged.

"Stole it. I don't remember specifics."

"BASTARD! You could have TOLD me about this!"

"What're you--"

"THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO BRING ALL THIS CAMPING STUFF!" Sasuke almost missed the silence.

"Slipped my mind." He busied himself with arranging firewood, lighting it with Kanton no Jutsu. Naruto tried to occupy his mind with laying out bedrolls and rations. Sasuke looked up from his work.

"Ramen?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! Ramen!" The other smiled with a child-like joy, holding the package up like it was a holy relic.

"Weren't you going to eat more _interesting_ things?" Naruto blushed and grumbled at the same time.

"I usually do!" He said, "But not on missions! Ramen is light and easy to make! It's perfect for-- GOMP!" His silted eyes looked down at the round object that had thrust itself into his mouth.

"Unhhh..." He moaned slightly, watching the older jounin bring the chopsticks to his mouth.

"Eat some sushi, dobe. It's better for you."

The boy swallowed with a big gulp.

**Vocab - **

Yukikage you-key-kah-geh Literally, 'Snow shadow'. It's the Snow country's equivelent to Konoha's Hokage (Fire Shadow).

Kagebunshin kah-geh-buu-n-sheen In the english manga, this is translated as 'Art of the Dopleganger'. It's the jutsu Naruto got from the Forbidden Scrolls in chapter one.

Kanton no jutsu Kah-n-toh-n-noh-joot-suu Fire breath. One of the Uchiha special abilities.

Kata kah-tah A hand sign used to preform Jutsu's.


	4. Day Four

A/N: I'm... on schedule? HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE! OO; Okay, so I'm off by roughly one day, that's still better than I thought it was!

I'm having some slight difficulty concentrating on one topic for a long period of time as of recently, so my chapters may be a bit jumbled. ; I actually had an outline for this chapter too, so maybe that'll help make traveling interesting, as well as working as a comfortable source of together-ness for my jumping thoughts.

Anwayz, this chapter's a little... angsty, but it's necessary and such. I'm not great at angst, humor is more my forte, I think.

May I remind you all of something that some of you know and others may not?

When forming couplings in the Naruto Universe (or any universe for that matter, but we're just looking at Naruto's right now), the usual labels are a combination of the names of the couple. for example.

LeeSaku.

Obviously, the story that mentions LeeSaku is going to have mentions of a relationship between Lee and Sakura, right? Well here's something you should know.

Lee, in this case, is the one coming on to Sakura, therefore, he is the one courting her.

Not the other way around.

THEN it would be SakuLee. In this case, Sakura would be the one courting Lee. See?

IN THE TERMS OF HOMOSEXUAL COUPLINGS---

AKA, SasuNaru.

The order of the names, determines their positions, Seme (top, or 'dominant') and Uke (bottom, or 'submissive'). The seme is first. Hence, if the coupling of a story is 'SasuNaru', Sasuke is the Seme, and Naruto is the Uke. 'NaruSasu' means that Naruto is the Seme and Sasuke is the Uke.

THIS IS VERY A IMPORTANT DISTINCTION!

However, if someone mentions something like 'NaruSasuNaru' it means that both Naruto AND Sasuke play BOTH parts.

Sorry, it's just a little pet peeve of mine when someone says that their story is "sasunaru" and Naruto is the seme, it's just BOTHERSOME! 

Anyway... A refresher of this story's couplings...

**SasuNaru**

**LeeSaku**

**KibaHina**

**NejiGaa**

**ShikaIno**

**KakaIru**

So... Now that we're clear on that...

Onwards!

**Day Four--**

Sun peered into the wooden rooms through the cracks in the shutters on the glass-less windows. Naruto shivered slightly in his sleeping bag and opened his crystalline eyes.

"Ne... Sasuke. Why is it so cold?" He asked, sitting up, noting the absence of a fire. He looked over to his companion, only to find him still sleeping.

"Eh?" He muttered, crawling over to him.

_That's weird. Sasuke always gets up before me._ Naruto layed his chin on his folded hands on the floor, and stared at Sasuke. _Whatever, we made good time yesterday. He can sleep in a bit. _

Naruto hoisted himself off the floor and set himself to re-light the fire for warmth. He couldn't stand the cold. Never could, be it those stares of the villagers, or the ice coating his window after a winter rain. Yet, no matter how much he disliked the cold, his thoughts began to drift towards on of the coldest things he knew.

_Sasuke..._ He spared another glance at the last Uchiha before scooting over to his sleeping form.

"If I didn't know better, I'd have thought you were a statue..." Naruto chuckled to himself with a sigh.

"...do...be..." Sasuke muttered. Naruto froze, staring at him as if any minute Sasuke was going to jump up and tease him about being so cheesy. When the expected didn't happen, Naruto let out a breath of relief. He felt a small smile creep upon his face.

_Heh. He's dreaming of me..._ Naruto lifted his hand, moving it slowly like the faintest hint of wind would wake him when suddenly--

BAM!

Naruto snapped his hand back at the sudden sound when another came.

"DAMN IT'S BLOODY COLD OUT THERE!"

Whack!

"Of course it's cold, idiot! It's the snow country!"

"Aww, shut it!"

"What'd you say!"

_What the hell! Bandits! OH SHIT!_ He nudged Sasuke who was somehow still sleeping.

"Sasuke... Sasukeeeeeee..." Naruto whispered urgently. He got a slight groan in response. Naruto could hear footsteps coming down the hallway growing closer, and closer, and closer...

_Oh, fuck it._

"SASUKE!" Naruto screamed into his ear. Sasuke shot up.

"WHAT THE HELL, NARUTO!" Naruto pointed towards the doorway where a huge, very angry man clad in furs was standing, staring at them in a predator kind of way.

"Shit." Sasuke hissed through clenched teeth.

"Sasuke! This way!" Naruto hand curved in claw-like curves. He pulled it back, nails elongating and lighting on fire, then thrust it forward, shattering the entire wall, and engulfing what was left in flames. Sasuke scooped up the blankets, and bolted for the fiery wall.

"GET THEM!" The burly man bellowed, pointing a directional finger at them. Within a few seconds, the entire band of men was after them.

"What the hell, dobe! Why were you shouting at me! You gave away our position!"

"You wouldn't wake up, you bastard! What the hell else was I going to do?"

"You could have hit me!"

"GLADLY!" Naruto shouted, "But later! They're catching up to us!" Sasuke looked behind them, and sure enough, the bandits were close at their heels.

"Shit! How are they going so fast over all of this ice!"

"Chakra?" Sasuke shook his head.

"Bandits can't use chakra very well! That's anbu level control!"

"No, I mean, let's use ours! We'll go faster!"

"Idiot! We'll waste too much energy. We need to get rid of them quickly..." Sasuke's eyes darted around, and when they didn't find the blonde idiot, he skidded to a halt.

"NARUTO!" He dashed in the opposite direction where Naruto had been caught, and was currently holding off twelve bandits with limited success. Dashing forward, Sasuke activated his sharingan, whipped out a giant shuriken, and threw it at the mob. It successfully sliced through four of the men, and they fell, staining the white snow with their blood so red.

"Sasuke!" Just then, the Sharingan showed Sasuke the most painful sight he could ever see--but to hell if he would let it come true!

"Naruto! Duck!" And the blonde did, avoiding a lopping strike from a very sharp katana.

"Ah!" Quickly, Naruto preformed the kata for a jutsu he had learned while traveling with Jiraiya in the Lightning country.

"LIGHTNING HAMMER NO JUTSU!" Naruto screamed, jumping into the air and hurled a giant ball of electricity at his attackers.

"AUUUUUUUGGHHHH!" Ten or so men screamed as the shocks fried their bodies over and over.

"Ugh!" Sasuke winced in pain. He had barely missed the attack, and he knew that if his Sharingan hadn't been activated he would have been caught in it.

Naruto landed lightly, darting over to where Sasuke was.

"Sasuke! You okay?" His voice dripped with worry. Sasuke fought back a groan, and stood up.

"Yes. I'm fine."

"Ah. Good. Let's get out of here then." Naruto smiled, genuinely happy that Sasuke was all right. The other nodded, and off they went.

------------

"Dobe..." Sasuke said, a few hours after their battle.

"Yeah?"

"Let's stop for a while." Naruto stared at his partner.

"EHHH! Sasuke! Stopping!" The raven-haired male gave the other the infamous 'Uchiha death glare'

"For lunch, dobe. Lunch." This made the younger jounin smile.

"Ah! Okay!" Their pace slowed considerably while they looked for a relatively warm spot to stop. A single snowflake fell from the sky and landed on Naruto's nose causing him to laugh. Soon, the air around them was full of snow, whirling and swirling around them, sending chills throughout their bodies.

"Brrrrr! This is like a blizzard!" Naruto said, teeth chattering. Sasuke attempted to nod, but found himself unable.

"Eh? Teme? SASUKE!" Naruto shouted catching his collapsed friend. His eyes were wide with worry, but that soon changed to shock when he noticed the huge bleeding burn on his partners back.

"Sasuke..." He whispered. "You did get hit! You weren't okay, you jerk!" Tears threatened to fall from Naruto's eyes, but he was too worried to care.

"Shit... I've got to get you to safety!" The snow was coming down in relentless sheets, and visibility was low, but Naruto's kyuubi eyes were still able to spot a splotch of black.

"A cave! Hold on, Sasuke!"

"Unnn..." He cast one more look at his companion, then dragged him into the inky blackness.

------------

"Unnhh...?" Sasuke woke up to the smell of freshly cooked meat and burning logs. "Naruto...?" He whipped around at the sound of his name, smiling when he saw that Sasuke had awakened.

"Sasuke!" He breathed, relieved that his friend was okay, but his smile quickly turned into a frown and his brow furrowed.

"You bastard!" He shouted; Sasuke winced.

"Urusai, Naruto. You're too loud." Something caught his eyes. Were those... tears?

"Jerk..." The blond whispered, his face hidden from sight by his bangs. He had removed his head protector. His whole body was shaking.

"You didn't tell me you got hit!"

"It didn't matter--"

"BUT IT DOES MATTER!" Naruto almost screamed, looking up at Sasuke with that pained expression. Tears were freely flowing down his face.

"It does..." He wiped the salty liquid from his eyes and spoke again.

"Those who sacrifice their missions are trash, but... those who sacrifice their teammates are worse than trash." Sasuke remained silent. "I think... that those who'll sacrifice themselves for the sake of the mission are even worse than that." Sasuke closed his eyes. The words bit deep into his flesh, stinging like saltwater in a paper cut.

"I didn't want you to worry..."

"AND YOU THINK I'M NOT WORRIED NOW!" Naruto was crying again.

"Shit.." He said wiping his eyes once more.

There was an uneasy silence between them while Naruto stoked the fire and checked the meat.

"You.." The sound echoed eerily off of the cavern walls. "You don't have to be strong all of the time, Sasuke."

"Hn..."

"You don't have anything to prove to me. I know you're strong." Sasuke almost smiled at that statement.

"Here, eat." Naruto held out a platter of meat and some sort of green. Sasuke sat up, wincing. "And careful of those spell tags. Don't let them fall off."

"What're they for?"

"Sakura gave them to me for injuries. it's 'her way of making sure I stay alive since I can't use medical jutsus' she says."

"Dobe, you should save them for serious injuries--"

"Oh? And your injury isn't serious? Sasuke, the whole left side of your back is covered in third degree burns, and there is a two inch hole above your hip. HOW IS THAT NOT SERIOUS!" Naruto's rage was building again, but it stopped short at the occurrence of one small action.

Sasuke smiled.

Not a smirk, not a grin, and not one of those small smiles. This was a smile that was so wide, his dimples showed, but his teeth were still hidden behind pink lips. Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

"Arigato, dobe." He ruffled Naruto's hair in a playful manner, smile never wavering. The blonde couldn't contain his blush, and opted to hide it behind his long bangs instead. The exchange went on for a few more minutes before the younger jounin reluctantly pushed Sasuke's hand away and bid him goodnight.

"Get some sleep, teme."

"Hn... you two, dobe."

And they both fell asleep smiling.

Vocab:

Sharingan sha-reen-gahn Sasuke's bloodline jutsu, the "mirror wheel eye". It allows Sasuke to see through the opponents jutsus, copy them, and see a few seconds into the future in a fight.

Urusai oo-roo-sah-ee literally, "you're loud", but it's usally used in context when someone wants to tell someone else to shut up.

Arigato ah-ree-gah-toh Thank you.

Note: 'Lightning hammer no jutsu' doesn't exist. I made it up on the spur of the moment. ;


	5. Day Five

A/N: Fifth day! I'm still on the boring, traveling days, and I really don't have much time left! Must... Write... Faster... EEP!

Thanks to everyone for the reviews! I've been responding to you individually, so If I missed yours, I'm really sorry! Actually, I'm surprised I haven't gotten flamed yet. It kind of feels like a small, moral victory for SasuNaru writers! YATA!

Onward ho 

**Day Five--**

The sun was up and the clouds from the day before had cleared, leaving behind a beautiful winter day in the Snow Country, and a scowling Naruto hovering beside a sleeping bastard.

WHAM!

A tanned fist collided with the side of Sasuke's head, sending him flying ass-over-tea-kettle into the stone wall of the cave.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR!" Sasuke roared, getting slowly to his feet nursing his new injuries. Naruto was smiling sweetly at him, still sitting in his original position.

"Isn't that how you wanted to be woken up, teme?" He fluttered his eyelashes for effect. Sasuke groaned, remembering the conversation from yesterday.

_"What the hell, dobe! Why were you shouting at me! You gave away our position!"_

_"You wouldn't wake up, you bastard! What the hell else was I going to do?"_

_"You could have hit me!"_

_"GLADLY!" Naruto shouted._

"I didn't mean under normal conditions..." He growled.

"Oh did you now?" The blonde was still smiling.

"Naruto?"

"Hmm?"

"Shut up." Naruto burst into laugher, no longer able to maintain a straight face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Sasuke-teme." Sasuke picked up his shirt and vest. "Hey, wait a minute! I need my healing tags!" He bounded over to his comrade. The other turned around in compliance while he removed the tags and examined the wounds.

"Lucky you! There won't even be a scar left."

"Wonderful..." Sasuke snarled, his statement dripping with sarcasm.

"Screw you." Naruto pouted, then smiled, running his fingers along his partners back. He allowed them to linger a moment longer then necessary before standing up and grabbing his bag. Sasuke pulled on his turtleneck and buttoned up his Jounin vest before following suit.

"Let's go, dobe." With that, the Uchiha sped off. Naruto fumed.

"TEME! Don't CALL ME THAT!"

------------

It was late in the afternoon when the Yukikage's office finally came into view. There had been no signs of bandits since the previous day, and they hadn't had any trouble getting into the snow country even though they had forgotten their passports.

_"It's not MY fault we don't have them! YOU were the one who got briefed on the mission!"_

_"Shut up, dobe. Tsunade-sama didn't give me passports."_

_"Yeah, whatever, bastard."_

A few minutes later, they stood in front of the Yukikage's office. Sasuke knocked three times on the wood, and the door swung open.

"Welcome, Konoha ninja's." A women with long black hair and a fur coat sat in the Yukikage's chair.

"Yukikage-sama..." Both Naruto and Sasuke nodded their heads in respect and acknowledgement. She smiled at them.

"I suppose you have come for the scroll." She pulled out a large scroll, equipped with straps for easy carrying. "Do tell Tsunade that I need this back by the end of Janurary."

"Hn." Sasuke nodded again in understanding.

"Ummm... Yukikage-sama?"

"Yes, Naruto?" They both jumped.

"HEEEEEHHHH? How did you know my name!" Naruto shouted, temporarily forgetting who he was talking to. The Yukikage smiled and chuckled softly.

"Your reputation precedes you, Naruto, Sasuke." They stared at her for a brief moment. Naruto was the one to break the silence.

"Can I use your bathroom?" She pointed to her right.

"In the hallway, it's the first door on your right."

"Thank you!" He tore out of the office. Sasuke tossed his departing figure an affectionate glance unknowingly.

"So you like him?" Sasuke froze, moving only his eyes to look at her.

"...hn..." She took that as a yes.

"I take it he doesn't know then." Another 'hn' was given as a reply.

"Why don't you tell him?" He glared at her. "You're a very popular bachelor in Konoha so I hear."

"I have many female suitors... yes."

"And males so I hear." He shrugged.

"Are you afraid that he may not like you back?" She took his silence as a yes.

"So you're not confident in your seduction skills then..." He gave her a wide-eyed glare.

"I have plenty of confidence in my seduction skills, thank you..." He hissed, trying not to lose his temper in the presence of someone of her stature.

"Then why haven't you made a move yet?" Sasuke was prepared to respond to her when Naruto reentered the room.

"Gomen ne, Yukikage-sama!" He grinned and scratched the back of his head in a gesture of apology. Sasuke looked at Naruto with a furrowed brow.

_Why haven't I made a move yet? I've been called a prodegé and a sex-god, I can seduce anyone I want, and I have the largest fan base in the entire Fire Country! _A sly smirk twitched upon his lips as he formulated a plan. _Just try to resist, dobe..._

"Here's the scroll, you two may go, and Sasuke," He shook himself from his thoughts and looked at her. "Good luck with that." Naruto shot them both confused looks before they left.

_Perhaps I can give Naruto the gift I wanted to give him all along..._

A low, perverted chuckle escaped Sasuke's throat. Naruto gulped.

_Sasuke + Laughing NOT GOOD! _

This was going to be a long trip back.

Vocab

Gomen goh-meh-nn Sorry

NOTE:

Putting a hand behind the neck, or scratching the back of the head is a sign of embarrassment in the Japanese culture. It's also used as a submissive or apologetic gesture.


	6. Day 6

A/N: Ahem Terribly sorry for the slow update. I wasn't around my computer at ALL during the Christmas week, and getting back to school after winter break isn't a picnic.

I keep thinking that I should have made this chapter a lot Limey-er…. But hell! It's only day six… I still got that many to work with! WOO! cheers

Short… again… but bear with me. Day Seven will also be short, but the days after that should be… very eventful. And the longer the chapter, the more time it takes to type/write/plan/whatever the story. Slower updates? Yeah. But That's not TOO bad, seeing as I updated every other day with the first five chapters. Does a chapter a week sound bad? I didn't think so. 3 Enjoy (Quick note… This chapter is actually three pages. Crazy, huh?)

**Day Six--**

It was midnight before Naruto and Sasuke stopped to rest. They had found a small village at the base of the nearby mountain range they were traveling beside, and decided to spend the night at a local Inn. But in the Snow Country, staying at an Inn was more like having an all expense-paid pass to a hot-spring resort, this inn, not being an exception, was very well equipped in that regard.

"Sugoi!" Naruto whispered in awe through a giant grin. He was standing in the doorway of the men's hot spring, clad only in a small white towel. He drank in the steamy sight - a wonderful reprieve from the cold, dry outdoors that he was tiring of.

The room was large, made of stone with a high wooden dome for a ceiling that did a wonderful job of trapping in the heat. There were stools and buckets sitting next to the showering hoses, and a large variety of soaps, oils, salts, and other such scented items lining the walls. The spring itself was set in the center of the room with large boulders jutting out here and there at odd angles, and steam was pouring out of it like a freshly cast jutsu.

Behind Naruto, Sasuke was also admiring the sight -- though it wasn't exactly the same one.

"Oi... dobe..." Naruto jumped at the sound of his voice. A quick blush came about when he realized who was behind him.

"Ahhh... Sasuke, I thought you were going to sleep?"

"It was cold. I decided to _warm up_ first." The Uchiha's voice was a little deeper than usual, and they were soaked with a sensual glaze. Naruto felt more blood fill his cheeks and he made a b-line for the spring, hoping that he could blame the redness on the heat of the water. Sasuke watched him cannonball into the water, not missing the slight lift in the towel when he jumped, and licked his lips.

"Dobe, you're supposed to wash first." Naruto waved a dismissive hand at his partner.

"Bah! It's after midnight, Sasuke. No one'll be here 'til they change the water. It's fine." Sasuke turned his back to Naruto, smirking.

"Whatever…" He said, sitting down on one of the stools. His eyes scanned the shelves in front of him, finally resting on a bottle of clear bath gel. He plunked the bottle off the shelf, and set it down next to him.

_Now is when the fun begins… _Sasuke thought to himself with a quick lick of the lips. He picked up the shower hose and began to work.

In the hot springs, Naruto was having a very hard time trying not to look. Over on the patio, Sasuke, his crush, was soaking himself thoroughly with nothing but a towel on, and looking like a goddamn _porn-star_ while he was at it. He swallowed roughly, biting on his lower lip in an attempt to dispel his ever apparent blush.

_Look away, Naruto, that's it, _Naruto cooed to himself, _you can do it. Just don't think about how sexy he looks when his hair's all wet… or the fact that he's smothering himself with gel… or that he just licked his lips… or…OH HELL!_

Naruto dived under the water, breaking the surface with bubbles. Sasuke peered over his shoulder, aware of the dobe's desired actions.

_Is that enough for now? Yeah. Enough showering. I better go get him before he drowns himself. _Sasuke strolled over to the water and eased himself in, entirely aware that from under water Naruto could see his towel ride up just a little bit. He walked over to where the bubble broke the water's surface, grasped one of Naruto's limbs and hoisted him out of the water.

It was dully noted, that Sasuke was surprised, embarrassed, and well turned-on, when he found himself holding a flailing Naruto by his foot, towel, long-since left in the water.

"BAKA TEME! PUT. ME. DOWN!" Sasuke obeyed without thought or witty retort. It was going to be difficult to go much farther with Naruto tonight.

"Geez, teme! You didn't have to do that! I can get air myself!"

"Hn… what were you doing under water, dobe?" Naruto fumed at the sound of his nickname, but answered anyway.

"I was… looking at the fish. And don't call me that, teme."

"Fish?"

"Yeah. Fish. There's really big carp or somethin' down there." Though you couldn't tell because of the ample amount of water all over his body, Naruto was breaking down in a cold sweat. He was lying through his teeth, and he was pretty sure Sasuke wouldn't believe him.

"Hn." Sasuke made sure his voice was expressionless, but inside he was thrilled. Such an excuse… maybe he could go farther tonight after all.

"Sure, dobe. Fish." Sasuke sat on the underwater bench-like stone that lined the spring, quickly formulating a plan. For the first time that night, he was very glad that the steam rolled off of the water in such thick layers he couldn't see to the bottom. Naruto, too, sat down, making sure to keep just a little distance between the two bodies, but not wanting to miss out on contact either.

Slowly, so the movement wouldn't be detected by Naruto's keen eyes, Sasuke slid his foot across his partner's leg and watched their eyes grow big.

"Heeeehhh! A fish just rubbed me!"

"What did you expect? We're in their spring."

"Bu-..it just-… I-…" Naruto sighed, thoroughly convinced that Sasuke didn't believe him. Naruto had just finished calming down when he felt something else brush against a _private_ area.

"YIIIIEEEEEEE!" He yelped, jumping to his feet. Sasuke fought hard for a straight face.

"What now?"

"THEREWASAFISHANDITBRUSHEDAGAINSTAPLACEWHEREFISHREALLYDON'TNORMALLYGOANDIT—" Naruto stopped, realizing by the expression on Sasuke's face, that he was making no sense what-so-ever.

"I WAS MOLESTED BY A FISH!" Sasuke's cheek muscles ached from being so tensed. He was determined not to laugh. He couldn't. Naruto would figure everything out. He didn't even trust himself to speak.

"Hn." Naruto snapped.

"Baka teme!" He stood up and stormed out of the hot spring completely towel-free, and Sasuke didn't miss a minute of nude hip-rolling action.

------------

The rest of the day was rather un-eventful. There were very few bandits, Naruto had a death grip on the scroll, and Sasuke was unnaturally cheerful.

Vocab:

Sugoi suu-goh-ee Cool, awesome, wow... you get the idea.

Oi oh-ee Hey, as in "Hey you."

**Note: **In a Japanese bath house, you're supposed to wash yourself _before_ you enter the bathing area. Since lots of people bathe in the same area, it's a gesture of respect to be clean. This is why Sasuke is using one of those little stools and a bucket with the shower hose, before he joins Naruto in the spring. The bath water is changed every couple of days, and no chemicals are used.


	7. Day Seven

**A/N: **Okay… Em, I actually went back through and _read_ my own story, and I must say that I don't know how you people can enjoy my writing…  
So I'm going to try and better it. Be a little more descriptive and such. I guess I didn't realize how much about writing I'd forgotten until I attempted to write again. As of right now, I've been back in school for about two weeks-ish, and I can all ready start to feel my writing improving. If anyone has the urge to review, it would mean a LOT to me if you'd state your totally HONEST and BLUNT opinion about the changes made. I work better under harsh circumstances, so the more critiques, the better!

Wanna hear something funny? I've all ready got another SasuNaru fic in the works… I'm going to start working on that when this Christmas story is finished. ;)

**AND BEFORE I FORGET! **This chapter contains my first (albeit, very short) **_lemon_**. Any _suggestions_ for the real one would be GREATLY appreciated (even more so than the writing critiques). Sorry if Sasuke seems a little… _perverted_, and if Naruto seems a little too _uke-ish_. It's not like it _really _happens though, so a little OOC on Naruto's part is OK, but Sasuke… em… I think I liked him better when he was a little less of a pervert. However, exhibitionist! Sasuke, has always been a favorite of mine. ;)  
And the next few chapters may be a little… _angsty_, but not really. Umm… kinda hard to explain. Dramatic maybe? Yeah. I guess.

**AND ONE MORE THING!** FFN has this weird tendency to mess with my punctuation. When I put both a question mark and an exclamation mark at the end of the same sentence, it removes one and leaves the other. It doesn't produce quite the same effect I had wanted it to, but it looks like I'm just going to have to limit myself to one punctuation mark at the end of each sentence. BEAR WITH ME HERE!

…I'm a work in progress.

**Day Seven—**

Sasuke stretched and yawned. Not a big wide-mouthed yawn, because he yawned without opening his mouth at all. It was an odd act in itself, but any other way would have been uncharacteristic. He blinked a few times, then tossed his gaze over to his sleeping partner, a light smile tugging gently on his lips.

Naruto was curled up in a little ball, hugging the giant scroll like a body pillow. An arm was carelessly thrown over the top, and his fingers touched when he breathed. His hair was a mess, and his face was slightly flushed. Sasuke reached over and ruffled his teammate's hair.

_I wonder what he's dreaming about…_ He thought absentmindedly.

"_Nnnn! Saa… Saa…!" Naruto moaned. Lips descended to his level, hovering slightly to allow for a quick intake of breath. _

"_Nani, Naruto?" The figure above him whispered, lips grazing the others. Naruto closed his eyes. He could feel his partner's hot breath linger across his neck. He lifted his head swiftly, locking his mouth to the others. Their tongues swirled around each other, aching with need. The kiss only broke when Naruto felt pressure against his entrance._

"_Ahh! AHHH!" He gasped. _

"_Are you ready, Naru-chan?" The thick velvet voice reverberated throughout his body. He simply nodded. The other placed his fingers on Naruto's lips which opened almost immediately, greeted by an over-eager tongue. His muscles felt lax and heavy. The most he could do was attempt to wind his tongue around the digits, then close his lips to suck lightly on them. He heard the one above him purr. _

_Naruto almost whimpered when the fingers were removed, but forgot all about them when his partner delved into his mouth, tasting him all over again. _

_All at once, Naruto moaned, and a finger slid into his entrance. Naruto almost swore that he was drunk, because any pain he should have been experiencing was gone. His partner was all ready moving his fingers back and forth, back and forth…._

_The second hurt a little more. Naruto felt himself wince slightly. This time, there was a hesitation before any more movement occurred. When he felt Naruto relax, he wiggled his fingers, this time, separating them in a scissor-like motion. Naruto groaned. He wasn't sure if he was hurting or if this was the best damn thing in the world. His partner pressed himself up against the blonde's slick body, lightly nipping the skin and re-stimulating the nipples with a swirl of his tongue._

"_Nnnnnnnnnn…!" He moaned once again. He half-noted the removal of the fingers, but his eyes grew to the size of dinner plates when he felt a throbbing organ slide in._

"_NNNGGHH!" He cried. His partner halted, allowing the other Jounin to adjust to his size before rocking his hips back and forth. Soon, the wincing stopped, and was replaced by faint moans that grew in a crescendo as the thrusts became more heated._

_In and out, in and out, his partner's hips rammed into him at a steady heart-pounding rhythm. Their bodies, slicked with sweat, pressed together. Naruto wanted to scream but his voice was lost. His manhood was dripping with precum that smeared itself against his lover's stomach. Pressure built inside him like a soda bottle waiting to be opened. His body was numb and the only thing he could feel was his lovers tongue slipping and sliding against his own, and the constant thrumming that was in his ears vibrated with every thrust against his penis and inside him. _

"_Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah! I… can't… hold… UHNNNN!" A bursting orgasm shot through his body as he screamed his lover's name---_

"SASUKE!" His eyes snapped open, and he found himself looking right into the black eyes of his dream lover. Naruto felt his eyes enlarge and his cheeks burn.

Sasuke simply smirked.

"What is it, Naru-chan?" Naruto's eyes, if it was possible, grew even more.

"AAAAAAUUUUGGGHHHHH!" He screamed, bolting out of the small, wooden hut and into the woods to 'relieve' himself.

Sasuke placed a hand inside Naruto's sleeping bag, only removing it when it had been thoroughly smothered in a thick, white, substance.

"Already this far, hm? I guess I haven't lost my touch then." He carefully licked the cum off of his fingers, smiling all the while.

"Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit-shit-**SHIT!**" Naruto swore, wiping himself off with snow. His face was still red from embarrassment and his heartbeat was so irregular, that randomness became a thing of the past. He covered his eyes with his hand, still swearing mentally at Sasuke and himself – mostly at himself. He did run away from Sasuke, after all.

He swore to himself again.

_Kuso! Why did I have to have that dream NOW? WITH Sasuke SO GODDAMN CLOSEBY! _

Naruto burrowed his head into the snow, looking somewhat like an ostrich, and was glad that the sonw muffled his scream. He remained there for a few moments, trying to clam down. He slowly removed his head from the snow-bank, flinging his hair back like a scene from _The Little Mermaid_. He allowed his gaze to remain towards the sky, and let out a hot, shaky breath.

This mission was starting to get on Naruto's nerves. First Sasuke catches him with the stuff he got from the fan-club (that didn't even contain accurate information), then he showered in front of Naruto, pornstar-style, and after that he stares at Naruto's little brother while in the hot springs, proceeding to get molested by a fish (which he was CERTAIN wasn't even there), AND THEN he wakes up from a very erotic wet dream involving Sasuke, only to find that the brooding shinobi was hovering over him, smirking in a "I-know-what-you-just-did" style. Naruto closed his eyes and revisited the memories again.

_Why do I always seem to get into uncomfortable sexual situations with Sasuke? It's almost like he WANTS them to happen. _He shook his head. _Yeah right. This is a one-sided love. Sasuke… he wouldn't think of me like that… would he?_ Naruto shivered slightly, and brought his gaze back down to earth. The heat from his embarrassment and arousal had worn off, and now he was very, very cold. He needed more clothes, and though he didn't want to face Sasuke right now, he knew he'd have to sooner or later. And if he were to choose, it would BE sooner rather than later.

A fresh look of determination crossed his face as he treaded back to the wooden hut, preparing for the worst bout of insults he'll ever experience.

To say Naruto was surprised when Sasuke didn't beat the crap out of him OR insult him in any way, shape, or form, would be an understatement. He was downright flabbergasted. Sasuke just looked at Naruto when he reentered the hut, and handed him the scroll.

"You're still carrying the scroll, dobe." He whispered in his ear. Naruto felt a touch angry. Angry for not getting the expected reaction, and angry about being called dobe for the millionth time.

"Stop CALLING ME THAT, teMEEEH!" He shouted, eyes narrowing. Sasuke shot him a slightly queuing look at the sudden outburst. It had sounded a little more _violent_ than usual.

They stood staring at each other for a few moments, Naruto breathing through flared nostrils, and Sasuke slightly puzzled. It was the dark one who spoke first.

"Are you okay, Naruto?" Naruto's eyes widened when he heard his name from the Uchiha. Being asked if he was okay was a rarity in itself, but this was just too much. Naruto felt his anger slowly ebb away. He sighed.

"Yeah. I'm fine." He gave a weak grin and chuckled slightly. Sasuke relaxed. He closed his eyes, and nodded in acknowledgement.

"Hn. Let's get going then." He shot Naruto another quick glance over his shoulder, and smirked.

"After you change, that is…" Naruto looked down at his pants, blushing feverishly when he realized that they still sported a great stain over his crotch.

Sasuke chuckled to himself when he heard the door slam behind him.

Twelve hours, a few bandits, and much bickering later, Naruto and Sasuke found themselves standing in front of the gates of Konoha. Naruto sighed in relief. Finally, he was able to relax on his 'vacation'. His eyes widened.

_Oh shit…_ He thought, _I still don't have anything for Sasuke! SHIMATTA! _He felt himself break out in a cold sweat as he realized that there were only five days until Christmas.

Sasuke noticed the sudden change in his partners demeanor, but brushed it off. Naruto had been acting weird all week and Sasuke was beginning to wonder if he had anything to do with it.

_I wasn't really acting all that normal myself…_ The Uchiha mentally shrugged. Perhaps he should tone things down a bit, or even back off from the whole 'seduction' thing. He had, after all, found out that Naruto could be at least _physically_ attracted to him, and that was a start. Maybe it sounded stupid after all that he had just done, but perhaps Naruto would like him more if he was more of himself.

_But that doesn't mean I have to lay off completely…_

A few more minutes of walking down the streets of Konohagakure Village, and they came upon Tsunade's office. Sasuke knocked thrice on the door, and upon hearing a 'come in', they entered.

"Welcome back, boys. Job well done?" Naruto gave her a thumbs up and a big vulpine grin.

"Yup! Back without a scratch, Baa-chan!" Sasuke looked down at his comrade.

"Dobe, you hit me with that jutsu of yours…" Naruto pouted.

"Baka Sasuke! That was an accident!" Tsunade laughed.

"Whatever, you two. You're both alive and well. That's what matters. No need to submit a mission report." Naruto looked at her incredulously.

"Heeeh? Honto? Awesome! Thanks Baa-chan!" Naruto handed over the scroll, waved to his hokage, and left the building. Sasuke nodded in Tsunade's direction and was about to leave when she stopped him.

"So did it really go that easily?"

"Hn. Yes." She smiled.

"Ahhhh… Good, good. Then I'm going to be putting you two on the same team more often." Sasuke was confused at this.

"Why is that?" She sighed.

"Naruto is a…_difficult_ partner for most of our shinobi's. He's loud most of the time so those who use stealth get frustrated; He's rather reckless, and his teammates, whether he wants them to be or not, get hurt by his hand pretty frequently; He likes to do things his way, and no one really knows how to keep him in line; And then there's the whole 'Kyuubi' thing… People just, don't want to be around him." Sasuke nodded. He understood.

But he liked the loudness. He liked the recklessness, the rebelliousness, and the fusing with Kyuubi didn't bother him at all.

"Just… consider this my Christmas present to you, Sasuke." She winked at him, receiving a glare in response.

"Hn," He turned to leave. "Arigato… Tsunade-sama." Tsunade smiled.

"Take good care of him, Sasuke. He needs someone like you."

_And I need someone like him. _Sasuke mused.

"Hn." With that all said, he left.

**Vocab—**

Some quick notes first; I've noticed that FFN edits my vocab punctuation, so I'll do my best to fix it. I'm sorry if this comes out weird, I'm trying something new.

**Kuso – **koo-soh **– **Crap, or shit. Literally, a mild curse word.

**Shimatta – **shee-mah-tah **– **A slightly worse curse word than Kuso. Relatively same meaning.

**Honto – **hon-toh **– **It means Really. Really.


	8. Day Eight

A/N: And here's day eight! I've been slacking a little on the updates, I know… I have no excuses. Just a bit of a writer's block that decided right now is an excellent time to take a vacation.

I did warn all you peeps that the next few chapters were going to be a little _dramatic_, so no complaining when you don't find much humor. It'll come… Eventually.

So yeah. I think the quality of my writing went up. I, for one, am much happier with the end result of this chapter than I am with the quality of any of the others. Hope you think so.

And without further ado

**Day Eight—**

It's not like Naruto wanted to be standing out in the cold at one in the morning.

Nope.

This is what it meant to be a shinobi – seven freezing hours of hellish stand-still shaking, chattering, and griping every other night, all for the safety of the citizens.

Usually, Naruto wasn't bothered too much by the cold. It was refreshing and it gave him time to think without distractions.

But there was one teensy-weensy little annoyance that Naruto was desperately trying to ignore.

Unfortunately, this _'distraction'_ was so difficult to ignore that Naruto had to force himself to focus on something.

And, as luck would have it, that 'something' happened to be the fact that he was shivering and freezing his ass off at one in the morning.

_Thank you for making my life so much easier, Uchiha Sasuke. _Naruto growled to himself, the statement dripping with sarcasm like a pizza hut pizza with extra cheese and a double order of bacon drips with grease. He let out a shaky breath and rubbed his arms with his gloved hands in the hopes that a little friction would warm them up.

Yesterday, Naruto had been called into Tsunade's office where she proceeded to tell him that all of his guard duties, missions, and permanent partner would, from now on, be his rival-turned-best-friend-turned-crush-turned-current-object-of-avoidence: Sasuke. And it just so happened to be that specific bastard standing no less than six feet to Naruto's left on the wall of Konoha.

…Not that Naruto noticed of course.

He scrunched his eyes up and sighed.

Naruto had intended to avoid Sasuke after his wet-dream incident, but it looks like it was impossible now. He was stuck with Sasuke like it or not.

And for the most part, like it he did. Though he got mad at Sasuke easily and frequently, he found it difficult to stay mad at him for long. Already he could feel his anger ebbing away, only to be replaced by the cold night air, and a nervous thrumming in his stomach.

Sasuke stood on the turret no more than six feet away from his little sunflower, doing what Uchiha's did best: angsting.

Yesterday's events kept playing and rewinding inside his head as a constant guilt trip. He was as close to regretting his actions as he could get, which was fairly close, considering that he wasn't allowed to regret. So instead, he was angsting like the sexy bastard he was.

His gaze was angled towards the moon, and he didn't even flinch when the wind bit him with cold. As a matter of fact, it was because of yesterday's 'wet-dream' incident that his stomach was churning uncomfortably and distracting him from the temperature.

"Aren't you cold?" Naruto asked him, genuinely curious. Sasuke was startled out of his angsting, but hid it carefully, not looking towards his partner.

"No. Not really." He answered.

"Liar…" Naruto growled. Sasuke looked over at Naruto, locking gazes with the golden sunflower.

"I'm not lying." Sasuke replied. He turned his eyes back to the moon.

"How can you not be? It's _freezing _out here!" Naruto said, scooting close enough towards the Uchiha to touch him if he wanted. Sasuke failed to notice how close Naruto had become.

"It's not really that c—" Sasuke turned to face Naruto for a second time, only to come face to face and lip to lip for the second impromptu kiss of their lives. Wide eyes stared into one another until the blue pulled back slightly, a brilliant pearly pink blush blending into his flushed red cheeks.

"T—t-t-teme! Watch it!" Naruto tried to hiss, but failed miserably. He prayed that Sasuke hadn't noticed – that Sasuke's heart might be beating just as loud as his own, thumping against his ribcage and reverberating in his ears.

But Sasuke hadn't noticed the shaky tone; he had just heard the last two words and was following them with the utmost loyalty—faded red lips, parted only slightly, wetting themselves with a deep, red tongue. And for the nth time in the past week, Naruto was silent, words abandoning him like passengers in a shipwreck. But there was no need for words, as Sasuke closed the small gap between them in their first intentional kiss.

Naruto realized what was going to happen a split second before it did, and all he could do to prepare himself was take a deep breath before their lips touched again.

Sasuke could feel the slight wetness of Naruto's lower lip through the skin-on-skin contact. The cold that he didn't know he had been feeling began to flee his body to be replaced with tingling warmth he couldn't describe.

He was unable to form a coherent thought; his body was on auto pilot, proven by the betrayal of his hands, one of which found itself cupping Naruto's tanned cheek, and the other winding itself around his waist. Everything moved in slow motion, each small movement felt like a drop of molasses in Antarctica. But the kiss was like a campfire lit by simmering coals – a light cloud of smoke followed by a small-scale conflagration of passion. Sasuke opened his eyes slightly, wondering faintly when he had closed them, and made out a sliver of blue behind heavily weighted lids. This only made him bolder.

Finally certain that Naruto wasn't going to punch him, Sasuke's tongue weaseled out from between his lips and upon first contact, lips opened, and their song was thrust into an entirely new tempo, an almost painfully quick one. Naruto's arms wound themselves around Sasuke's neck, drawing the raven boy down to his height and deepening the kiss the best he could.

Tongues slipped and slid around each other, darting and weaving around the other, sweet and spicy tastes swapped places in a dance that couldn't be repeated even with the Sharingan. Lips slipped over moistened lips, each bout of kissing punctuated with a quick breath and another dive into the mysterious mouth of their companion.

Two sets of bruised lips, empty lungs, frantically beating hearts later, the couple broke apart gently, tongues still connected by a bridge of their combined taste.

There was a small moment of peace as they gazed into one another's eyes, neither wanting the heat to go away, and therefore making no move to separate.

But Naruto was quickly brought back to reality when he felt the cold of the stone wall Sasuke had backed him against sometime during the kiss, seep into his skin. His eyes widened and his heart beat found a new level of volume that even Naruto had considered unattainable before now.

"Don't play with me, Sasuke…" Naruto whispered with a hoarse voice biting back imminent tears. Before Sasuke could register the phrase, Naruto ducked under his arms and tore off into the distance, guard duty be damned.

"Shit." Sasuke hissed.

-----------------

Naruto was confused.

Cold, empty, and confused.

Not to mention hungry.

Panting, not from running but from the effort involved in biting back his tears, he burst into the semi-abandoned apartment building, slamming the door behind him before dropping to his knees, crouching over, and finally letting the tears fall.

His fists and teeth were clenched tightly, the former pressing indents into the floor. His body was shaking and his muscles were tensed. He released his fists, only to clutch his head.

_Why did Sasuke do that? Why does he play with me like this? _Naruto slammed his fist into the floor, leaving behind a large hole. He swore under his breath.

"Fuck…" Still cursing, Naruto got shakily to his feet; still hiccupping slightly, eyes puffy and face flushed from tears, he set immediately to doing something comfortable.

Like making ramen.

Ramen was his comfort food; it helped him think when things got tough. The three-minute-plus-boiling-time meal was one of the few real friends he had. He plugged in his electric kettle and took out a packet of Original Sapporo Ichiban Ramen.

"Geez… is everyone out to get me or what?" He muttered to himself, wiping loose tears on his sleeve. He hung his jacket on the hook, too tired and distressed to be lazy, and started digging through his closet for something to cover the hole in the floor.

"OW! SHIT!" He shouted in pain when a box fell from a closet shelf and hit him on the head.

"Stupid little mother monk—" He stopped swearing when he realized that it was a box of photos. More specifically, a box of photos from his Genin days. Naruto smiled weakly as he took off the lid.

The first photo was his rejected ninja ID photo – the one where he painted his face and hands in red. He chuckled at the memory.

The second was a photo of him and Iruka eating Ramen on Naruto's Birthday down at the lake while everyone was at the Kyuubi Festival celebrating the demon's defeat, while Iruka was celebrating the host's birth. Another weak smile accompanied by the wrinkling of the eyes.

Photo after photo, Naruto felt the sadness leave him only to be replaced with a warm contentedness. He was jerked out of his reminiscence when he heard the kettle ding. He got up, poured the water into a bowl with the noodles, emptied the soup base into the water and went to go sit down at his kitchen table, box of photos in hand.

He ate his noodles so slowly that they actually cooled off. This was the first time he'd ever placed ramen second to an activity, and he really didn't care. The photo's and associated memories were more than compensation for the negligence of his noodles.

Naruto spent the next few hours going through the pictures of his past, smiling, laughing, flinching, and almost crying. His comfort meal was cold, the hole in the floor was still there, and the sun was just peeking in through his window, letting him know that morning had come. He greeted the day with a weary smile and slipped into his bedroom, accidentally knocking his noodles to the floor in the process and not caring.

And he slept.

**Vocab—**

**Sapporo Ichiban Ramen-** Anyone who's had this brand of ramen will agree with me when I say that it is the KING OF ALL RAMENS! bowbow


	9. Day Nine

**A/N: **DUUUUDDDE! My muse friggin' bit me! Two chapter's written within like, three days of one another. o.O; Freakky.

Okay, this chapter starts out a little… _angsty,_ but bear with me, I'm trying to lighten the mood a bit. Christmas Eve is in two days which means that there's only THREE CHAPTERS LEFT! 00 Wow. I'm actually gonna finish this and be satisfied with it. SWEET!

And thanks to all my reviewers! 98 reviews! Gee-wiz! I love you guys too! -

And thank you Vera-chan! I owe you lots for your wonderful beta-ing! D

**Day Nine—**

Sasuke had fallen asleep on his couch, too tired and depressed to lug his sexy-ninja ass upstairs. He immediately regretted it when the sun viciously attacked his eyes through his unusually blind-less windows. He shivered slightly from a light chill that rubbed his uncovered body. He squeezed his eyes tightly in a feeble attempt to block out the sunlight. After a few seconds of his silent battle with the morning, a crash resounded through his home. His eyes snapped open, and his body jerked awake and off of the couch.

_That sound…_ He thought, _it came from my room… was it… glass? _Sasuke mentally trashed himself for not noticing someone inside his house. _I must have been really out of it… _Eyes narrowing, he snuck up his mahogany staircase.

_Who the hell would break into my house?_ He pondered. _Kakashi is the only one that uses the window… But he's too careful to break anything. _Sasuke shook his head violently, willing the after-effects of sleep and yesterday's events to stop from clouding his mind before gingerly pushing open his bedroom door.

A quick intake of breath was Sasuke's excuse for a gasp when his sharp mind glanced upon the scene before him.

Three of his fangirls clad in dark-blue jackets (with his picture on the back), thick white pants, and a white pleated skirt over them, sat helplessly on his bedroom floor. All three were staring off into space, looks of horror on their faces and tears streaming uncontrollably down their faces. Two of them were holding photographs taken from the wooden box he kept underneath his bed, the contents of which were spilt all over the floor. Sasuke could see the countless number of foxy grins donning a tanned, whiskered face peering at the world from their pieces of paper. Broken glass shards from a shattered window were sprinkled all over his dresser and carpet like small diamonds. His eyes narrowed into the death glare he was so famous for.

_I see… So they broke in through the window._ He shifted his gaze towards the frail figures next to his bed.

"What the fuck?" He growled at them, all the while glaring like a basilisk. One of the girls, Chelsea, turned to him with puffy eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Naze… Sasuke-kun…?" She practically whispered. Another girl turned her gaze towards him, still hiccupping from her heart-wrenching sobs.

"You –hic- tricked us, Sasuke-kun!" She choked. Sasuke returned to his stoic visage, though rage was building up inside him like the pressure in a shaken soda can.

"You LIED to us!" The last girl screeched, her voice cracking on every word. The Uchiha simply shook his head.

"I didn't lie to anyone." _Except myself, _He added, remembering a time when he denied his attraction to his Naruto. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and spoke again.

"I don't understand you girls. I've rejected every one of your advances, I've never done anything that could even be **REMOTELY** considered flirting, and for some **FUCKING** reason, you keep thinking that I actually **LIKE** you all!" He snapped, eyes beginning to bleed red with the Sharingan. "Now listen; I'm only going to say this once."

"I"

"Am"

"Gay!" He spat out the words as if he were striking the cowering females with every syllable.

The room fell deathly quiet.

"Now leave." Sasuke hissed out the command, his tone barely above a whisper. His eyes glew red, pupils spinning wildly. All three girls immediately snapped out of their sorrow long enough to dart back out his window and away from the Uchiha grounds.

Sasuke sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Everyone would know of his 'secret' by the afternoon. He kneeled down and picked up a picture of his smiling dobe.

"This is… all I can do to prove to you that I'm serious, Naruto. I don't know what else to do…" He whispered, tracing the grinning cheek on glossed paper, black eyes softening at the likeness of the person who could melt his heart at a glance. Sasuke held it close and closed his eyes.

-----------------------

Naruto woke slowly, awareness overtaking him at a snail's pace.

"Mmmm…" He moaned softly, slowly letting his slitted eyes adjust to the gently rays of sun.

He felt oddly at peace with himself. He sat up in his bed remembering yesterday's events. That kiss wouldn't leave him alone. Naruto sighed and slipped out of bed, sleepily shuffling off to the bathroom.

Fifteen minutes later a squeaky-clean Naruto entered his kitchen donning a black turtleneck, orange tee-shirt, and cargo pants.

_I should apologize to Sasuke…_ He thought to himself, opening his fridge and grabbing the milk carton for cereal.

Rap-rap-rap.

Naruto set down the milk on the kitchen table while walking towards the door.

"I'm comin'!" He yelled, strolling across the floor and swinging open the door, foxy grin in hand.

"Ohayo Naruto!" Sakura said brightly, beaming at him in her cherry-cola parka and maroon pants.

"Hey Sakura-chan! Wanna come in?" Naruto asked, moving aside in case she wanted to enter. But instead she shook her pink locks.

"No, thanks. I just came by to give you this!" She held out a white envelope with his name on the front with both hands and a cheery smile.

"What's this?" He asked, taking it from her. She replied with a hefty whack on the back of his head.

"Naruto no baka!" She said, "It's an invitation for my annual Christmas eve party! Don't tell me you forgot!" Naruto rubbed the back of head in pain and embarrassment.

"Eh-heh…" He laughed. Sakura sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. I would've given it to you earlier, but you were on a mission. Anyway, be at my house at six… And we're exchanging gifts too, so don't forget to bring them!" She waved to him and started to leave.

"Okay. Ja!" He waved.

"Ja!" Naruto watched Sakura leave before closing his door and remembering something very important.

_I don't have a gift for Sasuke!_

"SHIT!" He cried, startling what little awake fauna there was.

-----------------------

"Awwww man…" Naruto groaned, "What'm I gonna do?"

Naruto had finally finished shopping for seven of the rookie-nine, all three of his sensei's, old baa-chan, and Konohamaru's gang, but still one gift remained to get. Frustrated, he collapsed on a nearby bench.

"Man… I had had it all planned out too." He muttered, remembering his promise for the dinner with Kakashi and Iruka.

"AUUGGHH!" Naruto could feel his eye twitching. "The hell am I supposed to get that bastard?"

"Talking to yourself again?" Naruto looked up, half-expecting to see Sasuke towering over him with that sly-ass smirk. He was genuinely surprised when he saw Chouji instead.

"Yeah, whatever." Naruto said, scooting over to make room for his hungry friend who sat down and continued to munch on salt-and-vinegar chips. There was a moment of silence that was broken only by Chouji's munching and crunching.

"So, what's eatin' you?" Chouji asked, crumpling up his snack bag and tossing it into the wire trash-can beside him. Naruto sighed.

"Gift hunting." The whiskered boy grumbled, perching his chin on his hands.

"Ah." Chouji retorted. "Who for?"

"Sasuke-teme." Naruto said, leaning back.

"I had trouble with him too… until I found this cool scroll on charka tricks. He probably won't need it with his Sharingan an' all, but there's still some pretty cool stuff in there." Chouji grinned at Naruto's cod-fish imitation.

"AAAUUUUGGGGGHHHHHH! Why can't I find ANYTHING?" Naruto's eye was twitching again. A small popping sound shortly followed by the rhythmic crunching signaled the opening of another snack bag.

"When in doubt, eat on it." Chouji said.

"That's a stupid saying." He scoffed.

"But it's true! No one knows what to get you, so they just get you Ramen passes. Free dinner man, it doesn't get much better than that." Naruto shrugged slightly.

"Yeah I suppo-" His eyes suddenly widened at the dawn of a sudden epiphany. A bright smile of relief slit Naruto's cheeks.

"CHOUJI!" He shouted loud enough for anyone within a five-meter radius to go deaf. Chouji jumped slightly, then rubbed the ear closest to Naruto.

"What?"

"You're a GENIUS!" He bellowed, tearing off down the road. Chouji blinked a few times, staring after the recently departed figure. Suddenly, he jumped to his feet and thrust both fists in the air.

"YEAH! WHO'S THE GENIUS NOW, SHIKAMARU?" He whooped a few times before continuing to munch.

-----------------------

Sakura knocked on the door of the Uchiha estates. She then stepped back and waited for the door to open.

A few minutes later, she was wondering whether or not to knock again, or if Sasuke simply wasn't home, when the door opened.

"Ohayo Sasuke!" She said cheerily. He looked at her with an appearance of total indifference.

"Here!" She said holding out a white envelope with his name on the front.

"Hn…" Sasuke said, taking the envelope from her.

"You'll be at my Christmas eve party, right?" He didn't bother to look up at her. Instead, he continued staring at the folded white paper in his hand. Sakura quirked one eyebrow. Something wasn't right.

"Naruto'll be there…" She suggested, but was immediately silenced with an unexpected glare.

_What the hell… did something happen between them? No… Naruto was fine this morning…_ Sakura pondered to herself. Sighing, she tried the next best thing.

"Look, you don't have to stay, just come over long enough to pick up your gifts." He shot her a quizzical look. "Yes, you have gifts this year. Since Naruto got you those big shuriken last year, everyone wants to include you." He opened his mouth to speak, but she got there first. "No, you don't have to get anything for anyone else unless you all ready did." He nodded in compliance.

"Hn… Fine." Sakura flashed a huge smile.

"Great! I'll see you there!"

Sasuke closed the door before she left, glancing down at the paper in his hands.

_I don't want to go… But I need to patch things up with Naruto. _He sighed, ruffling his bangs. He glanced over to his kitchen table, eyes lingering on the small, blue package set upon it.

_I hope this makes things clear, dobe. I'm completely serious. _

-----------------------

"Thanks, Obaa-san!" Naruto said, rushing out the door with a friendly wave. Surprisingly enough, the old woman smiled and waved back at him.

_Ha! This is the best Christmas gift I can get that bastard_! Naruto thought to himself with a fond smile. _It's perfect._

Sasuke's freshly obtained gift in hand, Naruto took off towards his apartment to wrap presents and prepare for the day after tomorrow.

**Vocab – **

Ohayo – **oh-high-oh –** 'Morning

Naze – **nah-zeh – **Literally,why

Naruto no baka – **noh- bah-kah –** Emm… Kay, baka means idiot, and 'no' in this case makes Naruto a possessive noun, so basically, Sakura is calling Naruto a moron. P

Ja – **jah – **Did I do this one all ready? Ah well. It literally means "Later!" (As in the good-bye meaning)

Obaa-san – **oh-bah-sah-nn –** Literally means respectable old woman, but it can also be used in reference to an aunt, or grandmother. In Japan, older and middle aged women are referred to as "Obaa-san". It's kinda like saying "ma'am" or "sir" here.


	10. Day Ten

**A/N: **Woo-hoo! Another chapter!

Ya know, for some reason, I keep thinking that Sakura and Ino were supposed to _DO_ something relatively important… but I totally forgot what it was. I kinda like this result better anywayz; it's more realistic. I think you'll agree… actually, I'm pretty sure you will. 3

This chapter's Un-betaed because I wanna finish soon… I'll post the edited piece later.

**Day Nine -- **

"Didja hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Sasuke-kun is gay!"

"What?"

"Yeah! He admitted it to his fanclub yesterday."

"No way!" Sasuke peered down at the small throng of girls.

_Hn._ He closed his eyes in thought. _I'd better stay hidden for a while. Some might not take this well. _

Quickly and quietly, he leapt from the tree he had been hiding in and took off to pass the time at the Uchiha estate's training grounds.

-------------------

Mutterings followed Sakura everywhere.

They weren't aimed at her -- that she knew – but their unknown topic was beginning to bother her, for every time someone whispered the news to someone else, the receiver would respond with a wide-eyed gasp before proceeding to freak out. Though the conversations had pestered her all morning, she hadn't been able to stop and listen to what they were about. Tsunade had asked her to perform house calls that morning, while she herself attended to more "official matters." Sakura scoffed. _Apparently, being the Hokage requires a lot of sleep…_ But now she was done. Her final patient had been tended to. Now there was nothing standing in the way of her finding out what this scandalous news was.

-------------------

Ino stood behind the counter, feebly trying to distract herself from her perturbing thoughts by arranging and rearranging the flower displays located in the window of her family's flower shop.

_Is he serious?_ She contemplated almost absentmindedly. A soft bell chimed, and the pale blonde looked up from her menial task.

"Ino!" Sakura said in almost an exasperated fashion. Ino tried to fake a smile, but inside she was a little nervous. Sakura was always a little overprotective when it came to her teammates.

"Morning Sakura!" She tried to cram as much cheer as she could into that phrase. Evidently, her voice sounded a little too peppy, because Sakura proceeded to give her a very strange and suspicious look.

"Ino, what's going on?" Sakura asked with a stern tone. Ino hesitated before grabbing her friend's wrist and pulling her into the back room. _She has the right to know…_ The young kunoichi mused.

-------------------

"He did **WHAT?"** Sakura screamed in disbelief. Ino nodded solemnly.

"He told his fanclub that he was gay!" Sakura started at her best friend. "They had found photos of Naruto under his bed, and… he freaked out." Sakura blushed faintly at the thought of what those photos under his bed were for, but quickly shook her head to clear her mind. Her brow furrowed.

"Why would he tell them that? Why didn't he just… I dunno, _threaten_ them out of his house?" Ino sighed.

"He did threaten them – after he told them he was gay." _Figures. _" I guess he was just sick of being stalked all the time."  
Both girls sweat-dropped at the memory of a time when they too were loyal Sasuke Stalkers.

"This happened yesterday?" Sakura asked, trying to piece together the puzzle.

"Yesterday morning." The gears started to churn in Sakura's mind. She remembered how oddly Sasuke had been acting, but she had brushed it off then. Now she knew that something really had happened – something that convinced Sasuke that he needed to make a drastic move. Fast.

"So something really did happen between him and Naruto…" She said quietly. Ino gaped at her.

"HE **_CONFESSED_**?" Sakura shook her head.

"No… He was… pretty depressed when I talked to him yesterday." Ino contemplated this for a few second, then spoke.

"So either he confessed, and Naruto took it badly—"

"Or they got in a really bad fight—"

"Or someone else is after Naruto!" Both of them locked eyes and gasped.

"…I hope we're not right on that one…" Sakura muttered. The last thing those two needed was competition. Ino sighed, leaning back into her chair.

"Well, whatever. They can work things out at your party. Things can't go _too_ badly, right?" Sakura's brow furrowed.

"I hope not…"

-------------------

Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha.

He loved this time of year because the village always looked so pretty with all the lights winding around the lampposts, store-front windows, and overhangs. Trees here and there were decked out in tiny paper lamps, and the snow made everything look so pure and untouched.

And the whiteness reminded him of a certain someone's skin.

He blushed all the way to his ears at that last thought, but after composing himself, he took another look at the scene before him. It really did look like Sasuke; the night sky, black as his hair and eyes and the snow was as pale as his skin. Sasuke really did look like a cold, winter night.

Naruto felt a small wave of giddiness wash over him when he thought about his gift for his crush. It's all-or-nothing in the game of love, and Naruto was living that line to the fullest. His gift would either destroy any relationship he had with his friend, or push that relationship to the next level. He felt himself shiver from something other than the cold. He was so nervous that his body shook and lumps kept getting stuck in the back of Naruto's throat.

"Mmmm… Cocoa!" Naruto said, rubbing his numb hands together. Just ahead was a small, red kiosk. By the looks of the people outside clutching steaming mugs, and the chocolaty scent lingering in the air, the vendor was selling hot chocolate. He quickened his pace, and readied his wallet.

"One tall cocoa please!" Naruto ordered cheerily. The vendor smiled at him.

"One cocoa, comin' up!" The vendor disappeared briefly before returning to the service window with a scorching cup of chocolaty goodness.

"Here you are! That'll be 125 yen." They exchanged smiles, cocoa, and change.

"Thanks!" Naruto clasped his hands lightly around the cardboard cup, feeling the warmth slowly seep into his numb skin. He brought it towards his face, allowing the steam to warm his stiff cheeks too before taking a quick sip.

"Yeah, so he admitted to it." Naruto's ears perked up at the sound of the feminine gossip. It was mildly entertaining, he mused.

"No way! I can't believe that he'd _do _something like that!" The first girl nodded.

"Well he did! And he wasn't even, ya know, _skirting _around the subject either! He just, said it."

"Bluntly?"

"Just as it was!" The second girl gasped slightly.

"I can't believe he's gay…" She whispered. Naruto briefly wondered if he knew this person.

"Yeah… So I guess his bloodline will end with him."

"Yeah, I guess so. Still, it's kinda sad to see such a great clan just, _die out_ like that." The first girl simply shrugged.

"Well, the Uchiha's always were a strange bunch." Naruto spewed out all of his ingested cocoa, spitting and spilling the contents of his mouth and his cup all over the snow and himself.

"Aaahhh! Hot! Hot!" He said, trying to cover up his blatant surprise. The girls, who had turned to stare at him, turned their attention back to each other. Naruto watched them with wide eyes and bated breath for a few moments to make sure they weren't paying attention to him before dropping his cup and darting off into the night.

He laughed. A bright, melodic laugh that came from the depths of his soul.

He was gay! The _Uchiha _was **GAY**! Stopping at his roof, Naruto turned his gaze to the sky, still chuckling. He let out a breath of total happiness. The fog contrasted greatly with the black of the night sky.

_I've got a shot… I've got a good, solid shot. _He thought to himself, eyes sparkling and face smiling in earnest. Naruto burst into another fit of laughter, collapsing on his back, spread-eagle upon the dusting of snow on his rooftop. There was a nervous thrumming in his stomach, but he could honestly say that he was now more _anxious_ than scared. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

For tomorrow could either be the best or worst day of his life.

**Vocab—**

**-**125 yen **– **About a buck twenty five in American money. If you wanna get technical, it may be more around… $1.12? Ish?


	11. Day Eleven

**_IMPORTANT: This chapter has been reposted after being betaed and proofread. There's no new content, but I do hope that this time it reads a little smoother._**

**A/N: **Doesn't it seem like I apologize for my lateness/slackerness every Author's Note? Meh. I won't bother to tell you guys that I'm sorry. You all ready know that. But hey, I was really sick for a week and didn't go near my computer, then I had to catch up on all of my work, I was commissioned for a fan comic that being a pain-in-the-ass, I've been collaborating with a few of my fellow band members on some songs for our upcoming concert, AND to top it all off, I've been gradually moving all of my shit into the new house that my parents just bought. Moving is a pain in the ass because not only do you have to move all of the crap you've collected throughout the years, but you also have to clean every damn inch of **BOTH** houses! Oh well. We move a lot, so it's not like I have _that_ much. I think that's a damn good excuse though. Man.

I'm actually kind of surprised no one's guessed Naruto's gift to Sasuke yet… I left hints all through the story…

Well, actually, one person has come very close! But only one! Muwhahaaaaa…

And no one shall ever guess what Sasuke got Naruto! NEVER! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAA!

phew

… And BTW, this chapter ends before the day is out for a reason. That reason being that the Christmas party runs well past midnight and into the next day, and I'm pretty sure you all want a great big finale, so I'll grant you one. Chapter Twelve with include the entire Christmas party, plus everything that happens the following day. Sounds good? I thought so.

Onwards!

**Day Eleven – **

The sun was up, the people were awake, and it was another peaceful morning in the village of Konoha.

…Until the loudest of the rookie nine decided to live up to his nickname.

CRASH! BOOM! BANG! SMASH!

"SHIT!" A scream punctuated the din, and just like that, this Konoha morning was no longer peaceful at all.

"Owwww…" Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head. He was sitting on the floor leaning up against his bottom cupboards. Pots and pans were haphazardly strewn all over his kitchen floor.

"Stupid cupboards…" Naruto grumbled, picking up a particularly large wok, only to get hit again by a stray lid.

"Goddamnit!" He hissed, rubbing the back of his head again. "They're out to get me, I _swear!_" He muttered, casting a mock-paranoid glance over his shoulder.

Grumbling out curses involving a clicky pen, a lighter, and a mutated pickle, he shoved all of his kitchenware back where it belonged – in his cupboards.

A good twenty minutes of cleaning later, all of his pots were picked up, his dishes were done, and the spilled ramen from yesterday was scraped off of the floor.

"Ha! Done cleaning! Now to make a mess!" Naruto stated with pride and glee, hands on hips and admiring his handiwork. He strode over to the now-clean-counter and whipped out the only cookbook he had – An all-purpose Betty Crocker Cookbook that old Obaa-san down at Ichiraku's Barbeque (a very successful off-shoot of Ichiraku's Ramen Shop) had been kind enough to lend him for the occasion. Eager, he flipped to the index in the back.

"Lessee… ham... ham... Ah-HA! Found you!" Naruto exclaimed, finger pressed firmly into the pages of the book were it indeed said:

Ham

and scalloped potatoes, 421-22

baked, 417

with glazes for, 417

carving, 418-19

creamed eggs with, 291

fresh, with stuffing, 407

loaf, 422

macaroni and cheese, 298-99

pancakes, 45

phyllo rolls, 15-16 …

And the list went on.

Not really knowing what was what, Naruto turned to the one that looked easiest: the baked ham on page 417. The passage about baked ham told him to turn to page 418 for the Timetable for cooking the meat, and he did so.

"Waaahh! Cool! It even shows how to carve it!" He said with excitement.

"Now, lessee… Smoked Loin, Smoked Arm picnic… what the hell? Uh… Smoked shoulder, Smoked ham… Canadian style… bacon? Whaaa? Whatever. I dunno what kind of ham I got… I'll just try Smoked… now how much does it weigh…?" Naruto felt his head spin. He never knew there was so much to cooking just a simple dinner.

But hey, if Sasuke knew how much trouble it was to cook something like this, maybe he would appreciate it a lot more.

"Heeheeheeheehee…!" Naruto chuckled to himself with a look of mischief on his features.

----------------------

Halfway across Konoha, two bubbling kunoichis were busy decorating the expansive basement of the Hokage tower.

"Hey Ino, can you hand me those rolls of streamers?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, sure thing." Ino responded.

"Thanks." The other responded, streamers in hand.

Sakura was currently standing on the ceiling, feet griping the surface with chakra. Her party was only a few hours away, and there was still a LOT of decorating and other such things that needed to get done.

BOOOM!

A large gust of wind exploded into the room so forcefully, Sakura was knocked from the ceiling and onto the floor.

"Owwwww… What was that!" She asked, rubbing her back. Ino groaned, rolling onto her back. Sakura ran over to her friends side.

"Ino! Ino! Are you all right?" She asked worriedly. Ino opened an icy colored eye and managed a small smile.

"Yeah…"

"What happened?" Ino smiled rather sheepishly.

"Don't let exploding tags get close to helium tanks. Bad idea." Ino's voice rose in pitch until it matched that of Alvin and the Chipmunks. Sakura stared at her friend in disbelief. Well, so much for the balloons. She took a quick survey of the entire room.

Chairs were up-turned, streamers were strewn haphazardly, coating the room in what looked to be giant confetti. The grocery bags full of snacks were empty, and their contents (though still unopened themselves) were littered everywhere. Sakura groaned, then slapped a hand over her mouth when she heard the unintentional impression of Marvin the Martian. Ino laughed, squeaking out a cartoon-like giggle. That was enough to get Sakura going, and before they knew it, the helium had them busting their guts with peels of laughter that were rather unjustified.

Shikamaru picked that moment to walk in on the two friends. He froze at the sight of the trashed room and hysterical girls rolling around the floor. He stood there in the doorway, his eyebrow arched high-enough to be considered suicidal, and his mouth an open invitation to any passing fly. After a few moments, he shook his head rather violently and walked away from the slightly _odd_ scene.

"_Women._" He muttered with another shake of his head.

--------------------

Sasuke wasn't faring any better than he had been yesterday. As a matter of fact, he was faring worse.

Much worse.

It appeared that his fan club hadn't taken him seriously when he told them about his preferred sex and they were glomping, groping, and ogling more violently than ever.

"Sasuke-kuuuuunnnnn! Come with me to my Christmas party?"

"Would you like to spend Christmas with my family? I'm sure they won't mind."

"Sasuke-kun! What did you get me for Christmas?"

"Would you like to open your gift now, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke-kun, Sasuke-kun, Christmas, fucking Sasuke-kun again...! Sasuke ground his teeth together, straining his facial muscles to remain still.

_I swear to whatever god may be listening that if I hear another girl say 'Sasuke-kun' again, I'm gonna…._ He thought viciously to himself before his thoughts were roughly interrupted by an auburn-haired girl hugging his arm tightly and squealing the dreaded phrase:

"SASUKE-KUUUN!" His eye twitched as his stoic mask cracked revealing a furious visage beneath.

He wrenched his arm out of her grasp so suddenly and forcefully that she was thrown carelessly to the cobblestone street.

"Don't touch me." He hissed. The girls around him gasped, their movement temporarily stolen by his bloodthirsty gaze. Soon, another girl moved towards him, lust in her eyes.

"Can I touch you then?" She cooed, placing his arm in-between her breasts and rubbing against it. Sasuke thought he was going to be sick. He yanked his arm away from her and tore off to the nearest building…

Which just so happened to be the residence of his beloved little fox.

---------------------

Naruto hummed to himself as he sliced and diced assorted vegetables with a thin kunai. Next to him, a wok sizzled with steam and small pieces of red pepper and mushrooms. He sniffed the air quizzically. His stir-fry was coming along nicely.

He was about to drop the freshly cut greens on his cutting board into his wok, when he was rudely interrupted.

**SLAM!**

Naruto yelped, the contents on his cutting board flying through the air and landing randomly on his kitchen floor.

"Shit!" He swore under his breath. His head shot up from the floor, and he glared in the general direction of his entryway.

"Whoever the hell you are, I hope you have a good reason for—" Naruto shouted, stomping out the kitchen, but stopping short when he saw his unannounced visitor.

"Sasuke?" He asked, thoroughly confused.

The Uchiha was leaning with his back against his rival's door, hand clutching the doorknob, and his gaze thrown over his shoulder. His chest rose and fell heavily with uneven breaths. Sasuke looked up and froze as he realized whose house he was in. He gulped down his oncoming nervousness and was about to speak when Naruto did instead.

"'The hell are you doing here?" Naruto could feel the onslaught of anxious thrumming begin in his stomach as he tried to maintain his composure.

"Fangirls." Sasuke was never one to beat around the bush. Naruto cocked his head, studying Sasuke's stoic face.

"Eh? But I thought they gave up on you since you told them you were ga—" He slapped a hand over his mouth in shock. He wasn't supposed to know about that! It had only happened yesterday.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"How the hell do you know about that?" He asked, his voice frighteningly low and steady. Naruto thought he would spontaneously combust from embarrassment. He quickly fabricated the best lie he could come up with in such conditions, complete with a vixen's chuckle.

"I... uh… heard Sakura and Ino talking about it! They were one of the first to know, ya know? They, uh, were you're number one fans at one point you know…" Naruto swallowed hard and did his best to hold Sasuke's studious stare.

The raven wasn't sure if he should believe his friend. It seemed plausible enough. Sakura was his friend as well as Naruto's, and Ino was the biggest gossip Konoha had ever seen (or heard in her case). He shook his head inwardly. He'd buy Naruto's alibi…

For now.

_Damn! I should have known this would be awkward… what the hell was I gonna do during dinner? Hell, I can't even think of what to do **now**! _Naruto began to fidget with his white _"Let's do it!"_ apron. It was then that Sasuke took note of a particularly appealing scent upon the air.

"Dobe…are you… cooking?" He asked. Naruto's eyes widened as he thought up another quick story.

"Ha haa! Of course not! Me? Cooking? Are you nuts? Why would I cook? I only like Ramen, remember? Ramen is king! All hail the—" Naruto's rant was cut short by a pale hand covering his mouth.

"All right, all right, I get it. You're _not_ cooking. You just like walking around in an apron." Sasuke almost blushed at the dirty thoughts that entered his head from the garment's catchphrase.

"_Let's do it!"_

_Man, today is NOT my day!_ Naruto cursed inwardly. He feigned annoyance and put both hands upon his hips.

"So what if I like this apron, huh? It's very – Hey! Where're you goin' teme?" He shouted after the Uchiha who had brushed past him and entered his modest kitchen.

_Oh shit._ Naruto hurriedly followed his friend trying to think up some sort of excuse for the meal on the stove. _With any luck he won't notice the ham in the oven… I just might be able to pull this off._

Sasuke looked upon the diced zucchini littered all over the floor, accompanied by a kunai jutting out of the linoleum, and a cutting board that had squished a few pieces of the squash. He glanced over his shoulder at Naruto and smirked.

"So if you're not cooking, then what's this?" Sasuke asked in a cocky manner. Naruto huffed, rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms, all in one swift motion.

"Fine. I was trying something new for lunch, and you startled me when you came in. Jackass." He threw in the insult just for good measure. Sasuke simply shrugged.

"Hn. Well it's ruined now." He said, motioning to the thick black smoke billowing out from the wok on the stove.

"FUCK!" The fox boy darted forward, abruptly turned off the stove, and practically threw the charred wok into the sink. The cold tap water threw an enormous amount of steam into the air when it hit the hot metal. Naruto furrowed his brow in frustration. He'd been doing so well too! Now he'd have to start all over.

"Well, since you won't be eating that, why don't we go get something downtown? I'm hungry." Sasuke offered on the fly. Naruto whipped around and stared at him. All ready he could feel his heart rate speed up at the thought of this being a –

_Lunch date!_ He swallowed hard.

Sasuke fought down a blush. Why the hell had he just asked that? Naruto was going to think that Sasuke was hitting on him! …And he was, but that, he told himself, was beside the point.

Naruto opened and closed his mouth in several unsuccessful attempts to speak. He best try was a clicking croak in the back of his throat. Sasuke looked into those blueberry eyes and somehow, wordlessly and subconsciously convinced Naruto to answer.

"…sure…" The blond managed to breath. Sasuke blinked a few times, unsure that he'd heard right.

"Ah… We'll go after you change." Naruto managed a quick nod before scuttling off down his short hallway and into his room. The Uchiha let out a shuddery, yet relieved breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Things were looking up.

-----------------

It was blissful, walking down the streets with Naruto.

It wasn't just because he was walking calmly, side-by-side with the love of his life, though that was amazing in itself. It was truly peaceful because no one dared come near them.

And there was a multitude of reasons for this, the number one probably being that his fans didn't take kindly to Naruto. But neither did the rest of the town even though the young blond was so kind and forgiving. And the fact that, while both ninja's were strong separately, they were nearly ten times stronger together. That didn't help matters, but Sasuke found that he really couldn't care any less than he did at that point. The only annoyance he needed was bundled up in a bright orange and gold package with a bounce in its step.

"Ne, Sasuke… 'you like Okonomiyaki?" Naruto asked, glancing over at a restaurant to his right. Sasuke nodded.

"Nice change from ramen. Shall we go in? My treat." He said casually. Naruto wasn't sure how to respond at first, so he just grinned, and skipped over to the storefront.

The waitress who seated them was an avid Sasuke fan, so it went without saying that she lead them over to the best seat in the entire place. It was a red vinyl booth located at the far wall of an attached sun room off the side of the main dining area. There was a wide variety of frying oils, and the table was immaculately clean.

"Thank you." Sasuke said, nodding to the woman who squealed herself close to swooning at the subtle sign of acknowledgement. Sasuke turned to Naruto who looked slightly confused.

"Have you ever cooked Okonomiyaki before?" He asked gently.

"Kinda. I made it once with Iruka sensei, but I've never been in a restaurant before…" His friend raised an eyebrow at that statement.

"You've never been in a restaurant before?" He asked.

"Ah, I meant one that serves Okonomiyaki." Naruto said.

The waitress who seated them popped back up by the tableside with a large tray with a bowl of batter, and an assortment of smaller bowls full of a variety of toppings.

"Here you go! Enjoy!" She said with a blinding smile and a low bow. Both Jounins nodded to her as she left. Sasuke selected a bottle oil from the selection along the wall and poured a modest amount on the grill. He then grabbed a spoon and scooped an ample amount of batter, slapping it down on the greased spot. He tapped it lightly with a spatula for shape.

"What do want on it?" Sasuke asked Naruto who looked surprised at being put in first priority. He grinned and licked his lips.

"Meat!" Sasuke blushed at the seemingly innocent statement.

_How the hell am I going to last this meal without jumping him…?_ Sasuke could feel himself break out in a metaphorical cold sweat.

--------------------

"Arigato, teme!" Naruto exclaimed, patting his completely sated belly.

"Don't mention it, dobe." Sasuke said with a small smirk. Normally, Naruto would have violently retorted at the insult, but he couldn't seem to respond to it even half-heartedly. He sighed smiling and rolling his eyes. That was when he got another surprise.

"I'll walk you home." The stoic Jounin said. Naruto blushed furiously. He was determined to keep his eyes locked with the cobblestones on the street.

"I-I'd like that." Though Sasuke hadn't expected to be rejected after their comfortable and fun "date", he hadn't anticipated that answer either. He could feel a warm bubble of happiness swell in his chest.

"Hn…" He said with a small smile that ached to stretch across his pale face.

As they neared the heart of the marketplace, Sasuke noticed an abnormally large congregation of fangirls. He also took note of Naruto's sudden stiffness. It was almost like he was nervous of those women. Sasuke frowned, thoughts rather muddled. He was suddenly struck with an idea that would not only help to keep the fans away from them, but also… to test the water with Naruto before he jumped in. He took a quick, deep breath, and reached for a chilled, tan hand.

Naruto gasped at the skin on skin contact that had so unexpectedly engrossed his hand. Fingers interlaced with fingers, and palms were drawn taught against each other. He felt his cheeks heat up and a tingling sensation spread rapidly throughout his body, quickly and effectively chasing any possible amount of cold that the chilly winter air had given him.

"S-sasuke?" Naruto asked in a timid, almost Hinata-like manner.

"Hn?" Sasuke looked at him with as normal expression as he could muster, though his eyes held a sparkle of… affection? Yes, Naruto was almost certain that that' what the spark was called.

"…Never mind." He smiled warmly.

---------------

The villagers didn't hesitate to toss their curious glances towards the odd couple, but still, no one dared approach them. Sasuke felt as though he had been thoroughly drenched with a heavy-duty fan girl repellent, and Naruto, for once, wasn't afraid of being hit by a rogue tomato while walking down the street.

But their _animosity_ was an after-thought to the current feelings coursing through their blood. Naruto couldn't keep his goofy grin from splitting his face in two. Every time he tried to repress it, it came right back with a deep blush and an inaudible silent chuckle.

Sasuke could hear every drop of blood rush through his entire body, heating up his cheeks and causing his palms to sweat. But it seemed that Naruto either didn't mind, or hadn't noticed, so he proceeded to ignore it and instead focus his energy into maintaining his stoic mask. He had been doing well until he heard an impromptu chuckle from Naruto, and since then he hadn't been able to keep that ghost of a smile from his lips.

Naruto's apartment building came into view and the couple slowed to a halt. Naruto's smile slowly faded and he bit his bottom lip as a fresh bout of nervousness was sent shivering through his system. Sasuke, however, was staring at Naruto's kitchen window.

…The same window that had a monumental amount of smoke pouring out of it.

"Dobe…?" Sasuke said with a touch of urgency.

"…Yeah?" Naruto asked. Sasuke turned and faced him.

"Your kitchen's on fire." He said blatantly.

"My WHAT!" Naruto shrieked, eyes following Sasuke's finger towards his smoky window.

_Oh shit! The ham! I forgot all about it!_ Without hesitation, he dashed inside. Sasuke stared after him with an incredulous look of disbelief.

"That idiot…" He grumbled before hurriedly following him inside.

Naruto coughed roughly as he tried to navigate through his apartment to his kitchen. His eyes burned with smoke, and even his Kyuubi vision blurred with tears with every step he took.

"Naruto? _Cough, cough!_ What are you doing?" Sasuke shouted with what little air he had. Naruto didn't bother to reply. He simply stumbled towards his oven, turned it off and opened the door. A fresh cloud of smoke poured out at him, earning a few more hacking coughs before the blonde managed to open a few windows.

By the time Sasuke reached him, the smoke had cleared. The Uchiha smacked his resilient friend on the back of the head.

"You idiot," He hissed. "What were you thinking, running into your apartment like that? What if there was a fire?" Naruto didn't respond, vocally or physically. He just sat in the middle of the kitchen floor with a downtrodden stare aimed at his open oven and the lump of charcoal sitting on the oven grate.

"Oi, dobe!" Sasuke said, kneeling down and placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. This finally got him a reply.

"…I'm sorry, Sasuke." The Uchiha raised an eyebrow, thoroughly confused.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?" The younger Jounin turned to face him with a sad smile.

"I can't give you your Christmas present." The raven boy could only stare in bewilderment and confusion. Naruto drew a shuddery breath and spoke.

"You know how I invited you to Iruka's for dinner?" Sasuke nodded. "Well, Kakashi took him on a trip he won… and they weren't gonna be here to _have_ dinner with." Suddenly, everything clicked in Sasuke. He found himself speechless, so Naruto continued, his pace increasing with every word spoken. "So I tried to find another present, and I was talking to Chouji and **HE** said that when all else fails go with food so I borrowed a cookbook and I was gonna invite you over here for dinner instead, but then you came in when I was making stir-fry and I forgot about the ham and nowHMPH!" Naruto found himself quiet, and it dawned on him two seconds after the fact why.

Sasuke had kissed him. Again.

Naruto felt his cheeks heat up in an unmistakable blush as his eyes met Sasuke's, their faces mere inches apart.

"…Thank you." The older Jounin said softly. Naruto gulped.

"Ah... a-a ano…" The blonde boy attempted to speak, eyes darting to and fro as if searching for inspiration, but again he was cut short with another soft kiss.

Naruto swore his heart was swelling to the size of a hot air balloon. He couldn't help but feel a little sad when Sasuke stood up and turned to leave, but he couldn't complain. He had just been kissed.

_Twice._

"You're… going to Sakura's party tonight, right?" Naruto nodded, not trusting his voice to answer. He then realized that Sasuke wasn't looking at him, and used his vocals anyway.

"Yea." He squeaked.

"Seven then." It was Naruto's turn to be confused.

"Huh?" Sasuke turned and locked gazes with his dobe.

"We'll go together. I'll pick you up at seven. Be ready." And without waiting for a reply, he turned and left a stunned Naruto sitting seiza on his linoleum floor.

"Did… I just… get myself a boyfriend?" He croaked.

---------------

Sasuke thought his legs were going to give out. They were trembling so horribly that they could easily be compared to jiggly jello on a porcelain plate carried by a peg-legged old women on a cobblestone street. Though his mouth felt dry, he swallowed, trying to focus and calm himself before tearing off for home.

It didn't help matters to have both of those sweet, impromptu kisses running amok through his mind.

But it did help when he realized that Naruto hadn't pulled away at all, and had even (well, he assumed) agreed to go with him to Sakura's party.

It amazed him how much harder it had been to invite the blonde to the party and how easy it had been to casually take him to lunch. He supposed it had something to do with those kisses.

Damned things wouldn't leave him alone.

He had given up asking himself why he had kissed the dobe, for he all ready knew. He promised himself that he wouldn't hide from himself any more, and if he felt like kissing Naruto…

Then he'd damn well do so. Whenever he liked at that.

With a satisfied smirk and a deep breath to cool his jittery nerves, he set off for the Uchiha Estates.

_Tonight shall be eventful. _

Vocab—

**Okonomiyaki **– _oh-koh-noh-mee-yah-kee_ – known as the "cabbage pancake" or the "Japanese pizza". It's made with shredded cabbage, eggs, a little flour, water, and deep fried in a wok with whatever topping desired, be it bacon, sausage, or whatever. I can send a recipe to those who'd like to try it. And, just for the record: In Japan, Okonomiyaki restaurants have a big, flat grill in the middle of the table. Traditionally, you make your own, and the store just gives you the batter and some assorted toppings (plus drinks and stuff, but whatever). So it's pretty cool, pretty involved, and a great place to go with friends.

**Seiza **– _say-zah_ – This is the official name for proper sitting when on your knees. Ya know, when you've got your legs tucked up under you on a cushion or floor. It's kinda formal.


	12. Day Twelve

A/N: Holy shit, this chapter is 10 pages long and 5,001 words! Wow!

Okay, so I want to post some warnings on this chapter.

There IS a **_lemon_** in this chapter, so if you get squeamish, please skip ahead of it for the fluff. And umm.. My lemon uses kinda explicit language, but not really, so… yeah. I didn't censor my words with substitutes like "member" or "little brother" or anything. But some warning.

…And I'm finally done!

_**Please don't forget to read the Authors Notes at the end of the chapter!**_

Commence

**Day 12—**

The sun glared at Naruto though the living room window. He had fallen asleep on his couch after…

_Sasuke…_

Naruto smiled, his eyes still closed and the kisses still fresh in his mind. That smile soon turned into a goofy grin as the giddiness of that afternoon returned for another round in the octagon with his stomach. Naruto opened his eyes and sat up, glancing over at his now completely clean kitchen. He had spent a good hour or so trying to distract himself from thinking of his dark-haired, dare he say _boyfriend_, but cleaning and scrubbing his kitchen until the sunset light glinted off of the slick tiles then tried to take a nap.

Wait.

Rewind.

Sunset?

"OH SHIT!" Naruto jumped off of the couch and darted off into the bathroom. Sunset meant that it was nearly seven o'clock and Sasuke would be showing up to his door at any minute to take him to Sakura's party. He hadn't showered or picked out his clothes and god knows where all of his gifts had gotten to.

_Aw hell. _He cursed at himself, stripping down to his skin in record time and jumping into an ice-cold shower with a yelp. It didn't take long for the water to heat up, and for that he was grateful. He grabbed his two-in-one shampoo bottle and quickly worked the soap into a lather, hissing in pain when the suds dripped down into his eyes.

A few moments later Naruto hustled out of his shower and speed-walked into his room drying his hair and bypassing the act of wrapping a towel around his waist.

"Aw man! What am I gonna **wear**?" He stopped suddenly and blinked twice before shivering in disgust at his last statement. "Wow that sounded girly."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sasuke felt his heart rate increase with each step he took towards Naruto's house. After the events of that afternoon, Sasuke had tried his best to distract himself by shopping for gifts for everyone. In retrospect, it probably wasn't the best idea, because just about everywhere he went something reminded him of his little blonde dobe. Sasuke sighed. It was pointless, he rationalized, to try to not think about Naruto because the act in itself is im-poss-i-ble. 'Can't be done.

He came to an abrupt halt when he noticed that his feet had brought him all the way to the dobe's door without him realizing it. With a gulp and a deep breath, Sasuke brought up his hand and knocked on the apartment door.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Knock! Knock!

_Crap! He's here already!_ Naruto panicked. He had managed to pick out his outfit and was currently trapped under his couch retrieving Chouji's gift. How it managed to get itself under there… the world may never know.

"Come on in! I'll be right there!" Naruto shouted, hoping he could be heard from where he was.

"C'mon you little son-ov-a—" He growled at the package. No matter how far he stretched his arm, the damned box was just out of his reach. "Just a little farther—" He stretched his arm as far as it could go without popping it out of socket. His fingers were trembling, a hairs breadth away from the gift.

"GOTCHA!" Naruto exclaimed, grabbing the box.

"Got what?" A voice asked from behind him.

WHACK!

"OW!" Naruto crawled out from under his couch rubbing his head where he had hit it in surprise. "Teme! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"What were you doing under the couch?" He asked. Deciding against the long explanation of how the heck Chouji's gift ended up under his couch (mainly because he couldn't remember how), he muttered a small "Nothin'."

"Hn… Right. Are you ready to go?" Sasuke offered his hand to help Naruto up. Surprised at the gesture, he hesitated a moment before allowing himself to be hoisted up.

"Yeah, let's go."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"YOU'RE LATE!" One slightly miffed kunoichi shouted at her teammates. Naruto's hand took its place behind his neck, and a sheepish grin crept upon his face. Sasuke's expression remained stationary.

"Eh-heh. Sorry Sakura-chan!" Naruto said. Sakura smiled and moved out of the way of the doorway to let the two boys inside.

"It's okay, you're not really all that late." She closed the door behind them.

"Woooowwwww!" Naruto said, staring at the decorations.

The whole room was lined with small light strings arranged in swirl patterns along the walls, the trim near the ceiling was lined with icicle lights. Balloons coated the ceiling, sparkling with reflected light amongst the many crisscrossing streamers. Several small Christmas trees stood in tasteful accents along the wall, refreshment tables, doorways, and a few marked the boundaries for the dance floor. Fake snow was piled here and there, and frost had been sprayed onto the windows, each lit with their own electric candle. What really caught Naruto's eye was the refreshment table and buffet off to the left of the largest of the seasonal trees which housed the gifts that everyone had brought. The table was laden with mounds of food ranging from roasted chicken to strawberry pound cake, chocolate, punch (and alcohol, it was assumed), biscuits, and a variety of Christmas goodies.

"So much food…" Naruto whispered under his breath. Sasuke glanced at him and chuckled to himself.

_Figures food would steal his attention like that. _Sasuke turned his attention back to surveying the room. It really was tastefully done. Admittedly, Sakura deserved a lot of credit for a job well done.

Over at the food table…

"Hey, Naruto! You made it!" Chouji grinned from on end of the buffet. Naruto smiled right back.

"Of course!" He picked up a paper plate and began piling food on top of it.

"Yeah, well," Chouji paused to eat the shrimp he had been holding, then spoke again. "I figured you'd at least be late."

"Aw, I'm not THAT bad."

"Psh… Sez you." Another male voice sounded from behind Chouji.

"Hey!" Naruto said indignantly. Chouji laughed.

"Shikamaru! Did you escape Ino's leash?" Chouji joked. Shikamaru's cheeks tinged themselves with red.

"She does not have me on a leash… She's just chatting with Sakura and being—"

"--Troublesome." Naruto and Chouji finished for him before taking a bite of the food they had in their hands.

"Che."

"HEY HEY HEY!" Kiba shouted, bounding over to the small group and pulling Naruto into a head-lock.

Sasuke glared at Kiba from across the room.

_Damned dog-breathed son of a—_He cursed under his breath. How dare he touch an Uchiha's property! Well, okay, it wasn't his property…

Not _officially_ anyway…

"Evening Sasuke." Neji said walking up in front of the brooding shinobi with the intention of talking.

"G-g-ood evening U-Uchiha-san…" Hinata stuttered behind her cousin. Sasuke nodded his head and grunted in acknowledgement.

Music started playing, vibrating the speakers and forcibly increasing the volume at which everyone spoke. The lights that were on dimmed themselves, and another colored set came on. Reds and purples and blues flashed around the room in a similar manner to those at a nightclub. There was even a series of disco balls hanging from the ceiling over the dance floor.

"Looks like the party's finally starting!" Kiba shouted, pumping his fist into the air.

"Kiba…" Chouji started.

"…Are you drunk?" Shikamaru finished while raising one eyebrow in curiosity. Kiba's flush face split into a toothy grin.

"Not drunk enough! WHOOOOO!" He grabbed a bottle of beer from the beverage table and skipped haphazardly over to Hinata.

"An da parfiess snot eben sdaded yed…" Naruto said through a mouth full of food. Chouji nodded and Shikamaru sighed.

"How troublesome…"

"Sakura…" Ino said staring into the party scene with disbelieving eyes and a gaping jaw.

"…Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Sakura whispered to her friend without removing her eyes from the sight before her.

"Yeah… and I can't believe it."

"Sasuke's actually… _socializing!_" Both girls paused, looked at each other, then looked back at him.

"Phew! Man, I'm beat!" Naruto muttered while collapsing into a chair along the wall. He had been dancing every fast-dance with everyone, anyone, and even by himself once he had finished his plate of goodies. In-between the fast dances he had joined Kiba and the others in drinking contests which he had won, hands down. Heck, his body was already starting to filter out the alcohol. One small trip to the bathroom and he'd be as sober as a reformed alcoholic during lent. He vaguely wondered if it was okay to let Kiba get that smashed.

"WAAAHOOOO!" Kiba shouted, shirtless from atop a Christmas tree. Hinata was desperately trying to coax him down.

Naruto tore his eyes from the sight and they quickly landed on Sasuke. Naruto stared for a moment, blinked twice, and stared some more.

_That's it. No more alcohol… Now I'm starting to see Sasuke—_

"--Socializing?" Neji asked seating himself beside Naruto.

"What?" The blonde asked.

"I said 'Are you done socializing?'." The Hyuuga repeated.

"Ah. Nope. Not yet. Just takin' a break." Naruto said with a grin.

"I'm still unsure of how you did it." Neji said looking at the party crowd in awe.

"Did what? The shrimp in Ino's flower?"

"No… The—"

"—bucket of powdered sugar Chouji when he came out of the bathroom?"

"No—"

"The self-detonating cans of silly string?"

"No, Naruto, it's—"

"What about the super—"

"NARUTO!" Neji shouted loud enough to cut the hyperactive one off.

"What?"

"I wasn't asking about your pranks." Naruto looked at Neji blankly for a moment.

"Then what were you talking about?"

"Sasuke." Neji said. Naruto cocked an eyebrow at this.

"Sasuke? But I didn't do anything to Sasuke?" Neji simply smiled.

"Then can you tell me why he's being socially competent and friendly?" Neji asked. Naruto's jaw dropped.

"HE'S **WHAT!**" The boy screeched. Neji chuckled and nodded.

"He managed to talk to me for a little over an hour without scowling or scoffing. When I realized how long we'd been talking I _Byakuganed_ him to check for Henge and… He laughed at me." Naruto stared at Neji.

"I thought that, since you two are _best friends_ you might know something about it."

_But I didn't do anything… Sasuke's just…_ That afternoon's kiss flashed through his mind. His lips tingled at the thought. Suddenly, his eyes widened and a small blush crept upon his cheeks. _Ehhh! B-b-but… Was it that…?_

"Ss-sorry Neji… I didn't do anything." _…right? _Neji smiled knowingly.

_Liar…_ He thought. But if Naruto wanted to lie, then there was nothing he could do about it.

"I should probably go help Hinata pry her boyfriend off that tree…" The tension was broken and Naruto burst into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah! You prob'ly should!"

"Mmm-hmm..." Sasuke muttered trying his best to focus on the conversation he was listening to, but failing miserably.

Lee and TenTen were describing some victorious battle they had won during some mission somewhere or other… A dash of youth here, a pinch of WHAM! there… Sasuke was almost positive that they'd told this story in a cyclical fashion… they'd get to a certain point, then start all over again without realizing it.

_That, _he thought to himself, _is probably due to all those drinks…_ He wasn't sure whether he was referring to the drinks that they'd had, or the drinks that he'd had. Sasuke decided that he didn't really care by taking another swig of the glass in his hand.

"—don't you think, Sasuke?" TenTen asked.

"Youth!" Lee shouted in the background. Sasuke looked at them and blinked a few times trying to speed up his hazy mind.

"… I wasn't listening." He said.

"EXACTLY! Then we circled around those two goons and WHAM!" TenTen rambled on. Apparently, Sasuke's response wasn't necessary for her to continue mock-fighting with Lee in her drunken state. Sasuke took another sip of his drink and made his way to the back of the room. He slumped into a chair along the wall.

"Holy shit, Sasuke, I didn't know you could socialize!" Naruto joked. Sasuke looked up and realized that he had conveniently taken the seat right next to Naruto. Sasuke smirked.

"I can do anything you can do," He said quietly, almost seductively. "Dobe." He finished.

Naruto could practically feel the vibrations of his partner's voice reverberate through his brain. He briefly wondered how Sasuke managed to talk so quietly and still be heard over the thudding bass coming from the stereo. The blonde shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"Neji said he was surprised."

"…You surprise people." Sasuke said with a light smile still on his lips.

"Well yeah, but…" It was then that he noticed the rosy flush of Sasuke's cheeks.

"Sasuke-teme… Are you dr—" He was cut off by Sakura's voice spurting out of the speakers announcing that the party was almost over and that everyone should come over to the big Christmas tree to get their gifts before they leave.

"Eh? It's over already? What time is it?" Naruto check the clock in the back of the room. The minute hand covered the three and the hour hand was only two numbers behind.

_HOLY SHIT, it's 1:15 am! I've been here for six friken hours!_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Wow." He turned to his companion. "Oi, Sasuke! Let's go get our gifts and get home." Sasuke didn't move.

"Sasukeeeeee…..?" Naruto said lowering his face to Sasuke's slumped level. Suddenly two pale arms wrapped themselves around his waist and pulled his body down upon his best friend.

"Whaaaa!" Naruto shouted. His face flushed bright crimson as Sasuke's hot breath tickled his ear.

"Sa—sa—sasuke!" Naruto whispered in a panic. "What are you doing?" No answer. "Sasuke?" Naruto pulled away slightly from the vice-grip and saw that his captor had finally passed out.

_Lucky!_ Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Someone behind him cleared their throat. His eyes widened, and he strained his neck to look behind him…

…Where his eyes came to rest upon the entire rookie nine and co. grinning mischievously.

"Eep!" He squeaked.

"Well looks like ol' loverboy passed out. Why don't you take him home, Naruto?" Sakura said, grinning from ear to ear.

"I.. uh.. I-i…" He swallowed hard. "Can I have my gifts first…?" Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed before handing him two plastic bags full of presents.

"One for you, one for Sasuke. Have fun!" Naruto felt his blush return full force as he took the bags from Sakura, avoided everyone else's creepy stares, and dragged Sasuke outside.

…From outside he could hear the whole party crowd erupt into tumultuous cheers.

_Geez…_

The cold air stung Naruto's face and left him wide awake trouncing down the snow-strewn streets. Sasuke still had a death grip around his middle, so Naruto had opted for carrying him on his back.

_So where am I supposed to take him?_ Naruto thought to himself. _I don't have a key to Sasuke's house, and it'll be impossible to break in with him around my middle… and he'd get really mad… but…_ Naruto blushed as Sakura's last words ran through his head.

"_Have fun!"_

"AUUGHHHH!" Naruto took off in a full sprint towards his own home trying to outrun his embarrassment.

An onyx eye opened…

"Keys… keys… Arggghh! Where are my keys! Oh! Got 'em!" Naruto fumbled around with the lock on his apartment door. With a small click the door flew open and Naruto stumbled inside.

"Brr… It's cold in here…" Naruto turned up his thermostat and suddenly realized that Sasuke's grip had loosened considerably.

"Huh. Weird." He took this opportunity to remove both of their shoes, jackets, and mittens before picking the other boy up, slinging his arm over his own shoulder and dragging him to his bedroom where he laid Sasuke on the bed.

"Can't have guests sleeping on the couch…" Naruto mumbled to himself. With a sharp jerk, Naruto felt himself falling backwards onto the bed and…

"Sasuke…" Naruto said quietly. Sasuke's charcoal-eyes were open and boring holes into Naruto's blueberries. The flush on the Uchiha's face was gone and the clumsiness induced by the alcohol had disappeared entirely.

"Sasuke, you have to let go. I wanna sleeeeepp…" Naruto whined in a hushed voice.

"…Then sleep."

"Eh?" Naruto felt himself move entirely onto the empty space next to Sasuke on his bed from his original half-on half-off spot on the floor.

"He-hey…!" Sasuke had slung his arm over Naruto's side. Naruto felt his face grow even hotter than before.

"Sleep." Sasuke commanded. It was followed by a moment of silence, then.

"Hey Sasuke…?"

"Hn?"

"Aren't you cold?" Sasuke recognized the question as the same one Naruto had asked him during guard duty. He smiled softy then pressed his lips into golden locks in a gentle kiss.

"Not since you're with me."

And they slept.

Morning came too soon for Sasuke's liking.

_Not that it wasn't already morning when we went to sleep._ He thought to himself. He smiled at the memory and moved his arm. Something was wrong.

_Where's Naruto?_ Sasuke wondered with wide eyes. Sitting up in the bed and looking around he could see that he was definitely at the dobe's house, but…

Where was the dobe?

Sasuke slipped out of bed and shuffled to the kitchen. His nose was met with a pleasant aroma.

_Is he… cooking?_

"Ah! You're awake!" Sasuke stared at him standing in front of the stove in an oversized t-shirt, sweatpants and the apron from last time:

_Let's do it!_

Sasuke felt his nose give a small lurch but he managed to gain control before it spewed blood.

"What're you doing, dobe?" Sasuke asked. Naruto turned to him and beamed.

"Making breakfast! 'Cuz… you know… dinner didn't work out well and I uh…" Naruto's eyes were cast downwards and his face was dusted in pink.

_Cute…_ Sasuke thought to himself with a smile. Naruto's head snapped back up.

"Saa! A-anyways, I'm done! Let's eat!" Naruto swept over to the cabinets and got out two plates. Sasuke sat at the kitchen table.

"Hn… lets."

"Ahhhh! I'm so full!" Naruto said leaning back in his chair. Surprisingly, the omelet he had made came out just fine.

"Hn." Sasuke said with a grin. The past hour had been spent talking nonsensically about everything and nothing at all in an environment similar to that of the okonomiyaki restaurant, though not exact. The air around them was comfortable and light-hearted, but there was an underlying level of shyness. Or maybe it was just the lingering headache from the party. Even with Jounin antibodies floating in his bloodstream, he still had a hangover, albeit a small one.

"So umm…" Naruto said, unsure of whether Sasuke was listening or not. "Let's have showers and then open presents! You can go first, but don't use all of my hot water!" The sentences was filled with childish glee and general obliviousness. Naruto picked up the dishes, glasses, and silverware and placed them in the sink and began washing them.

From the table, Sasuke had a clear view of Naruto's backside. His brain told him that looking away would be a good idea but his nether regions…

…Were screaming erotic and naughty things so vivid that even the largest of perverts would blush.

So what does the Uchiha do?

He compromises.

He wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and rested his chin on the dobe's shoulder. He felt the younger one squeak in surprise.

"Sa-sa-sa-Sasuke!" Naruto panicked with a heavy blush plastered firmly in place on his cheeks.

"Hn?" Sasuke's eyes were closed and his hot breath was not helping Naruto concentrate on the dishes in the sink.

"I-I've g-g-gotta…" Naruto tried to stutter out but he felt his voice give out when a roaming tongue trailed itself along his throat. Naruto turned in Sasuke's arms so that their bodies were flush against each other. Sasuke looked down at his captive and smiled. There was a two second pause then—

Rosy lips met pale lips and the battle of the tongues began. Tanned arms wrapped themselves around a tall neck. Gasps of breath were short but frequent punctuations to each round. Sasuke's arms tightened around Naruto's waist so his body curved up against the kitchen counter. Their hips met and with them their erections as well. Nerves went into shock and chemical imbalances shot up everywhere. Emotions so heated they could melt a volcano burned through their bloodstreams and their hearts beat erratically to maintain the flow.

Sasuke rocked his hips against Naruto's, slowly at first, then faster as the moans from their throats grew louder. One kiss just ended as the two combatants paused for air. Sasuke was about to dive in again when…

"Naruto?" The blonde was standing in the entryway looking thoroughly ravished. Somehow he had managed to escape the Uchiha's grasp.

"I'm…" He said in-between large gasps of air. "Going to take a shower." And in the blink of an eye, he had disappeared down the hallway and into the bathroom. Sasuke grinned.

"Che… Dobe." He licked his lips slowly.

_AAAAAGGHHHHH!_ Naruto mentally screamed under the scorching stream of hot water. He clutched his face in his hands. _Sasuke wants sex! He wants SEX! He WANTS S-E-X! _Naruto repeated the phrase over and over in his mind. It seemed incredible to him that his crush wanted to fuck the living daylights out of him.

_Well, in all honesty, I want to too, but…_ There was a small click.

"Huh?" Open flew the shower curtains and Naruto was unveiled to an equally naked (and equally hard) Sasuke. Naruto stared at him in disbelief and panic.

_Iwillnotlookdown.Iwillnotlookdown.Iwillnotlook—_

"T-t-teme! 'The hell do ya think yer doing!" He shouted. "I'm showering!"

A slick pale body slid against his.

"Hn. I know." Sasuke's confident exterior would have angered Naruto further but their chests were so close, and Naruto could feel Sasuke's nervous heartbeat against his own.

"Then what are you doing?" Naruto asked, quieter this time.

"Hn… I could wait." Naruto blushed as their lips met again. His eyes slid shut and he let himself get pinned against the shower wall. His erection throbbed almost painfully, crying out for attention which it was immediately granted. Sasuke's cock slid up and down against his. The pleasure resulting from the action was a million times greater than it had been in the kitchen.

_Damned clothes._ Naruto thought briefly. He wasn't given time to dwell on his thoughts for the pressure was building in the south.

Thousands of tiny little soldiers piled themselves against the gate holding them back. It was only a matter of time before the gatekeeper released them.

Naruto felt himself slipping down onto the tiled shower floor, unable to keep his footing. Clinging to Sasuke, they came to a silent, wordless agreement and lowered themselves onto the floor, lips still locked, tongues still entwined, and cocks still slick-sliding against the other. Shivers rolled down their spines as words and worlds lost meaning. Everything reverted to an animalistic summary:

Want.

You.

NOW.

Sasuke dropped his hips even lower, pressing harder against the writhing form beneath him. Naruto bucked uncontrollably against his partner, arms clinging to his back, legs winding themselves around the others.

The pressure continued to build.

Moans and mewls of pleasure grew in volume and even the scalding water of the shower splashing down on them was lost in the distance.

Their lips broke apart for a moment as Sasuke arched his back, thrusting his hips against Naruto's in one final motion.

…And the soldiers broke free.

Cum squirted all over Naruto's stomach and the shower floor. Both of them became aware for a moment of their surroundings and that the cum was quickly being washed away by the shower. But during that time of panting and falling from their sexual highs, their eyes never left each others. Finally, Sasuke moved, pressing his chest against Naruto's and moving his left arm towards Naruto's entrance. He pressed his middle finger against the ring of flesh and elicited an enticing moan from his captive. He applied a little more pressure, and inserted his digit.

Slowly and with painstaking care, the Uchiha began to move the finger back and forth. Naruto hissed when Sasuke pushed in and moaned when Sasuke pulled out. Sasuke increased his pace and soon the hissing stopped. He took that moment to insert another digit and repeated the process twice more before removing his hand entirely.

By now, both of them were incredibly hard. Naruto felt like he would burst from the constant but not insistent stimulation and Sasuke felt almost sick with anticipation. He sat up, lifted Naruto's legs setting them on either side of his hips and put the head of his cock against the entrance.

It was like someone turned the key in an automatic transmission car. His cock bolted inside and rammed the prostate hard. Naruto screamed a scream without pain.

A foot lowered on the accelerator.

Sasuke pulled back, gritting his teeth in self control, and pushed back in. The walls around him gave him such a rush. He pulled back, then in and back, then in…

His pace increased again.

Naruto was moaning, and Sasuke was sure that he was moaning with him. He pressed his chest against Naruto's once more and continued to thrust inside. Naruto's cock between them was hit by Sasuke's stomach with every thrust. Without warning, Naruto's entrance tightened around Sasuke's cock creating a vacuum suction effect. Sasuke felt like he was going crazy. Each thrust was getting harder and harder to do, but he felt the need to go faster and faster each time.

The pressure was beyond unbearable but neither the top, nor bottom, could stop.

Naruto moaned loudly at Sasuke's new rhythm.

_Approaching 50 mph… 60mph…_

Sasuke latched his mouth against Naruto's neck, biting softly and pressing his tongue against it firmly.

_90mph… 120mph…_

Naruto opened his eyes slightly and tightened his grip on Sasuke's back. He couldn't hold out much longer.

_140mph… 170mph…_

This was it. This was the limits. If they pushed it any farther than that…

_SCREEEEEEEECH!_

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Naruto and Sasuke screamed at the same time, throwing their heads back with Sasuke's final thrust.

Someone slammed on the breaks and the dam broke.

Cum covered their bodies and Sasuke's semi-hard cock was still firmly nestled deep inside Naruto as the two caught their breath.

"Sasuke…" Naruto breathed. Sasuke leaned down and kissed his lover gently before pulling out and shutting off the soon-to-be-cold water.

Sasuke dried them both off and helped Naruto into his oversized T-shirt while he himself pulled on a white bathrobe. Without warning he scooped Naruto into his arms and swept him off to the bedroom.

"Ahh! Sasuke! Not again!" Naruto whined in an exhausted voice. Sasuke could help but chuckle.

"Of course not." He kissed Naruto's forehead and laid him down on the bed. "I'll be right back." He said walking out of the room. Naruto smiled and touched his forehead where Sasuke had kissed him.

"…K..."

Sasuke put on the kettle and grabbed two mugs and two tea bags from the cabinet. Tea would be nice after sex like that. Glancing over at the table, Sasuke spotted the two plastic gift bags from last nights party. His gift to Naruto was in one of those bags. Perhaps now would be the ideal time to give it to him. The kettle dinged, signaling that it was done, so Sasuke tended to it, brewing two cups of tea and grabbing the plastic bags by the table.

"Oi. Naruto. Here." Sasuke said, handing his lover the warm mug. Naruto's face lit right up.

"Ah! Thanks, Sasuke!" He took the steaming mug from Sasuke and blew on the surface gently. Sasuke sat next to him on the bed and placed the bags between them. He dug into one of the bags and pulled out an oddly shaped blue package and handed it to Naruto.

"Here. This is for you." Naruto took it and laughed.

"Of course it's for me. That whole bag's for me." Sasuke bopped him lightly on the head.

"No you idiot. It's for you, FROM me." Naruto paused for a moment then smiled.

"K then." He said. He ripped the blue paper off slowly and stared in slight surprise when he saw the contents.

Sasuke had given him a Photo album shaped like Mt. Hokage at the top. The faces of the Village's heroes were carved into the top section but below them was a full body carving of Naruto in Hokage robes.

"Ah…" Naruto felt his eyes sting with tears, but his smile grew wider by the second.

"Open it." Sasuke said. Naruto did so and met with the smiling faces of team seven.

"This is—"

"Keep going." Page after page was filled to the brim with photos that Naruto had never seen before. Team seven, Inari and Tazuna, the rookie nine and co., the chuuin exams, even Gaara and the other sand Nins. But half-way through the book the pictures stopped and the following pages were blank.

"Those," Sasuke said, "Are for you to fill." Naruto didn't bother to bite back tears this time. Instead he flung his arms around Sasuke's neck and squeezed.

"You're welcome." Sasuke said with a smile and a hug. Naruto stealthily wiped his tears on Sasuke's shoulder before letting go.

"Aa-ah… Sasuke? I-um… I… ummm…" Naruto's heart beat louder until it thudded in his ears. His cheeks grew red with embarrassment and his gaze stayed down. Sasuke smiled, then tipped his dobe's chin up so their eyes could meet.

"I love you too, Naru-chan." Naruto's blueberry eyes widened as the statement was sealed with a soft kiss. Naruto felt his confidence come back.

"Well I should hope so! 'Specially after that shower—" Sasuke laughed into the next kiss and he could feel Naruto's curved lips against his.

_Merry Christmas Everyone!_

**Twelve Days of Christmas**

**END**

A/N: PHEW! I'm finally done! And holy shit did I write a lemon! Umm.. Sex is kinda hard to describe as I've learned, so I used a lot of metaphors. I hope everyone understood them OK and that they didn't detract from the scene any.

And how many people guessed that their first time would be in a shower? Huh? Show of hands, I'm really curious!

And how many knew what Sasuke's present was? Pretty clinche', I think, but that's OK. I'm sure someone, somewhere thought it was cute.

But still. Writing smut is damn hard (if you'll pardon the pun). My writing style definitely changed after being out of school and not writing any stories for a while. I must admit, I'm rather pleased with the result. It's really satisfying to finish a story (even if I'm like… six months late.)

ahem so anyway…

Expect more works from me! I have yet again become inspired to write some SasuNaru goodness!

Oh and I apologize to those of you who wanted to see some NejiGaa and such other pairings that I never did get around to. I really _meant_ to put some in, but in all honesty, I didn't have any sort of parameters (or outlines I guess) set for this story other than it would be twelve chapters long. Hell… I don't think Gaara was even in this story. o.O; Oops.

I love the drunken Kiba though. Heeheeheeheehee…

Umm, I'm pretty sure that I missed out on explaining something. I had made a mental note to do… I dunno, _something_ but I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Ah well. Such is life.

So, I hope you enjoyed _Twelve Days of Christmas_ and please feel free to comment critique, (review I guess), and question as you feel like you have something to say. Um.. yeah.

Later guys!


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